Keepin' it Real- A CRAZY week, Lice & Gallbladder Surgery

Sometimes I think it's important to keep it real, although we are extremely blessed and I think our life is pretty amazing, it is far from perfect! There is a lot hiding behind our smiling pictures, a mom that bribes her kids to take pictures b/c her kids and husband don't like pictures as much as she does. A mom that yells and loses patience and her Jesus' a lot with the kids! Kids who don't get a long all the time and fight a lot. Kids who don't mind and get consequences often. A husband and wife who love each other but bicker a lot and fight a lot and sometimes in front of the kids and we even go to bed angry and go days without speaking! Do I like that this stuff happens or like to admit it that it happens, no, but I don't ever want to fool people into thinking we live a picture perfect life b/c we don't! As moms I think it's important to be real and to share our struggles not only to help others who might be struggling with the same things but also to receive encouragement and support for ourselves, knowing we are not alone. 

Let's Talk Lice..

We had our first run in with lice. If you read my last post about my race you might have seen where I said my mind was on things back home and I would fill you in on a later post. As I'm in the car hundred of miles away and just hours before my next run I get a phone call from Brady's school nurse. You know the feelings that immediately hits you the minute your kid's school pops on caller ID, and then to be out of town, it was like immediate worry came over me. I think I would have preferred her to tell me he was sick but instead she precedes to tell me that Brady has lice and asked if someone could come pick him up, which I've learned later is not required anymore. Below from the CDC website...

Students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice.

Head lice can be a nuisance but they have not been shown to spread disease. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice.

Unfortunately not only was I out of town but Ryan was too, so I had to call in reinforcement. I called my mom and reluctantly shared the news and asked if she could pick up Brady from school. I also called Charley and Corby's school and warned them, suggesting they check their heads too and told them to call my mom if indeed they had it.

My sweet neighbor has become a lice expert and knew of a salon nearby that would do head checks and treatments. So I called right away and made an appointment first for only Brady but soon it turned into 2 treatments and a head check b/c Charley ended up having it too, ugh. Once getting to the salon, Corby ended up having it as well. 

While my mom waited for the appointment, poor thing had to go back to my house with 3 lice infested kids and wash all our sheets, gather all stuffed animals that had been slept with and bag them up and stick them in the garage, and put all hats and brushes in baggies and place them in the freezer. 

My in laws met my mom at the salon and took over from there, they must have been there for at least 2hrs entertaining and waiting for all the kids to be treated. After finishing they made a trip to Target to get sleeping bags for everyone to sleep in.

After receiving news all three kids had it I thought it would be wise for someone to check me and yep you guessed me too! All this going down while I'm away with ladies I've just met and minutes away from running another leg of our race. I felt awful leaving my parents and in laws to have to handle such madness. I felt like a bad mom that I didn't have a clue that my kids had lice. Brady is 9 and obviously I don't wash or brush his hair. Charley showers herself but I do brush it, but only when it's been washed b/c it's so curly we just throw it up on dirty hair days. Corby no excuse, I wash and brush his hair all the time. I felt embarrassed, dirty, and immediately my head started itching actually my entire body. I just broke down in tears, it's bad enough that all three of your kids and you have lice but to be away from them and to feel helpless, clueless as to how to fix it, guilty for leaving your parents to handle it, and in the middle of a race with no way to treat yourself and stuck with practical strangers. I made a quick call to my mom and my sister, vented for a minute and was comforted by their words and my teammates. I did my best to shake it off and gave it to God several times over b/c I tend to worry way too much!
After getting home and doing some research I started to feel a little better that I didn't catch it with my kids or me. 

The most common symptom of lice is itching. Lice bites cause an allergic reaction that cause this itchy feeling. However, you may not feel itchy right away, especially if it’s a light infestation. You may initially notice no symptoms for up to six weeks the first time you get lice. -Healthline.com

I'll be honest growing up and even as an adult until now hearing about people having lice grossed me out, I mean its still gross there are bugs crawling around and laying eggs in your hair but I always related it to dirty hair and dirty conditions b/c I was uneducated. 

It's a myth that lice are a product of poor hygiene or poverty. Head lice are equal-opportunity parasites. They like clean hair as well as dirty hair and can flourish in even the wealthiest communities. -BabyCenter.com

Most people get head lice when they have head-to-head contact with someone who has head lice. Head-to-head contact lets the lice crawl from one head to another head. The lice do not care whether the person has squeaky-clean hair or dirty hair. The lice are looking for human blood, which they need to survive. -AmericanAcademyOfDermatology.com

I have learned through all of this, that research shows these bugs have become Super Lice and are immune to over the counter treatments, all the states in red below are resistant to over the counter treatment.

Above the states in red indicate 100 per cent of the tested lice were resistant; orange states indicate 50 to 90 per cent were resistant and yellow indicates one per cent to 49 per cent were resistant. Data for blue states has not been analyzed and white states have not been tested. -DailyMail.com

Because of this you might want to find a lice treatment center near you, google Lice Treatment centers and I bet there is one close.

If you are in the DFW area I highly recommend The Royal Treatment Center in Hurst. They will do head checks for $15 and a treatment for $99 which includes 2 rechecks. Not cheap but worth it knowing my parents and in laws didn't have to deal with it and knowing it will work. 

Yes you can do the math and see how much money we spent to, ouch! 

Unfortunately there is still some things you have to do at home even after your treatment.

• After treatment, check the hair every 2-3 days and continue to use a nit comb to remove any nits or lice you see. (see  nit brush and the shampoo the our salon used)
• Use the lice medicine again in 7-10 days according to product instructions. Do not use sooner than 7 days after the first use, as this may cause scalp irritation or other harmful side effects.
• Check the hair once or twice a week for 2-3 weeks after you think that all lice and nits are gone. This can help prevent being re-infested with lice. -www.scdhec.go
• Our salon suggested spraying the School Time Spray Away (seen below) daily until the threat of lice is gone.

 Aside from this, the things I mentioned my mom did above with sheets, stuffed animals, hats, and brushes.

Disinfect combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water (at least 130° F) for 5-10 minutes. or what we were told was you could place in the freezer overnight along with hats and helmets.

Machine-wash all washable clothing and bed linens touched by the person with head lice in the two days before treatment. Use the hot water cycle for washing and the high-heat dryer setting. Dry the laundry using the hot cycle for at least 20 minutes

Place clothing, stuffed animals, comforters, or other items that cannot be dry cleaned or washed into plastic bags. Seal the bags for two weeks. -www.scdhec.gov

 NIT BRUSH

 

Side note, why am I 37yrs old and I just figuring out that lice eggs are called nits and the saying nit-picking comes from this, lol.

Luckily we were all out of the house for more than 24hrs...

Human head lice cannot survive more than a day or so when removed from a host. Lice found off a human head are likely to die within 6-26 hours; according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Lice found on combs are likely to be injured or dead, and a healthy louse is not likely to leave a healthy head.” This is important to remember, and is the key to easing anxiety about head lice living or breeding in your home. Simply put, any louse found off a head is in the process of dying. -Licehappens.com

  

Some other Lice facts I learned... 

1.  The life cycle of the head louse has three stages: egg, nymph, and adult. Eggs: Nits are head lice eggs.

Nits - Each day, a female louse lays 3-6 eggs, called nits. Nits are oval-shaped and very small - about the size of a knot in thread. Firmly attached to the hair shaft, nits often appear yellow or white, although they can sometime appear to be the same color as a person's hair. Nits are hard to see, and people sometimes mistake dandruff, scabs, and hair spray droplets for nits. Nits are also hard to remove.
Nymph - Within 7-10 days, a nit hatches into a baby louse called a nymph. A nymph has six legs and is tan to grayish-white in color. Nymphs feed on blood and mature into adults in about 9-12 days.
 

Adult - The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has six legs, and is tan to grayish-white in color. It may look darker in people with dark hair. Adult lice feed on blood from the scalp, and each adult can live about 30 days on a person's head. An adult louse will die within one or two days if it falls off the person. -www.scdhec.gov
2. It starts with an adult.  An adult louse has to crawl, b/c lice can not jump or fly, from another head

3. The most common way to get head lice is head-to-head contact with a person who already has head lice. Which usually starts with one child at school, sports, on the playground, or at sleepovers and then spreads at home between kids.

4. Girls get head lice more often than boys, and women more than men

5. While it is possible for African-Americans to get head lice, they rarely do. 

6. Pets don't get head lice and spread them to people. 

Okay enough about lice...

April 18th

 (I just got back yesterday from race, when all of the lice stuff went down).

 My last post I told you about Charley's little incident with her mouth and a fence. After a friend brought it to my attention that Charley's tooth was discolored, another mom fail for me, I didn't even notice, I'm 2 for 2, didn't catch lice and now this, lol. We took her to the dentist today to get it checked out and all is okay, besides being bruised, there was no other damage done, thank you Jesus.

We ran into some besties are the dentist.

After the dentist appointment it was my turn to get treated. Can you imagine knowing you have bugs in your hair for a couple of days and not being able to do anything about it???!!!!! To say I was relieved to be here would be an understatement. 

Charley and Corby got there their head checked and were clear!!!

They allow the kids to put their finger prints on the wall after their treatments, I will say I was a little hesitate to let them at first, I mean who wants their kids name on the walls of a lice salon, to show proof that we were here, lol? Of course I let them and now have decided to tell everyone! 

Charley in our matching wet braid salon do! We had to treat ourselves afterwards.

April 19th

I started feeling bad after getting home on Sunday from my race. I was having midline abdominal pain starting at the bottom of my chest at the bottom of my bra all the way down to my belly bottom and through to my back. I also found a bloody bump on the back of my head and was worried the lice had invested me with alien babies or something, lol. Since my backyard neighbor was forced to really get to know me this last weekend, I decided the kids and I would walk to her house and have her look at my head, which ended up being a mole that was aggravated from the combing treatment today, and ask her about my pains. She is a avid runner and I thought she might have experienced the pain I was having. 

Can't believe this is happening.

Walking to our neighbors.

Charley has become quite the artist and is very proud to show off her work, which she should be.

As you have seen Corby has some moves and loves to dance so to get this little note today made me laugh.

April 20th

 Still feeling bad this morning, I thought it might be a good idea to maybe go to the doctor. As I mentioned in my last post, Ryan's uncle passed away so I knew I needed to be at the funeral this morning, so the doctor would have to wait until afterwards. 

After the funeral the big kids and I headed back home to get Corby from school and then to gymnastics. It was at gymnastics that I was talking to my friend Ashley, who happens to be another backyard neighbor about my symptoms and she told me it was my gallbladder. I had done some googling about my symptoms, you know we all do, even when most of the research we find totally freaks us out. In all the research I had done, nothing about gallbladder had come up. I took what she told me very serious and decided to go to an urgent care after gymnastics, you know you gotta be feeling bad when you drag all of your kids to the doctor with you. 

I wasn't there but 10min when she told me I needed to go to the hospital. 

She laid me down and pushed on my chest right below my right breast and I would have screamed had my kids not been in there but instead I  just cried. I realized yesterday after pushing around on my tummy that this was the exact spot that was most sensitive. She began to tell me that if it was that sensitive that it most likely was my gallbladder and there was nothing more they could do for me. 

I called Ryan and couldn't reach him so I immediately called my bff Jenn. She was the closest one to my and the hospital and would be able to watch the kids until Ryan or my mom could take over. She of course was willing and even offered to come get me but I still not believing I was that sick I told her I could drive myself.   

I got the kids dropped off and arrived at the ER, although I told Jenn I was ok and didn't need anyone to sit with me not a few minutes later another bff Kari showed up right as I got to the triage area. Jenn had called her and of course she didn't hesitate. 

It wasn't long after that my mom showed up, who again I called and told her I was ok, this people sure don't listen, but I'm sure glad. 

I had finally gotten a hold of Ryan but assured him there was not need to leave work and come to the hospital until we knew what was wrong. 

  

 I finally got called into the ER and immediately they gave me some pain medicine and did their best to comfort me. I was taken to get a sonogram and an x-ray. 

The doctor came in and said, "your gallbladder is very angry and inflamed and needs to come out soon." I'll be honest I was a little relieved that something was wrong, my precious, caring yet typical older sisters, who I love dearly, have always loved to make me feel like I'm a hypochondriac which has stuck with me all my life and is always in the back of my head, so it was nice to hear I wasn't making it up, lol. However, I was freaked out too, not really about the surgery but how things would work without me, who would take care of the kids, how would they get to and from school, who would make their lunch, how would anyone find clothes for them in my disaster of a house? I mean Ryan is capable of doing all of this but I'll be honest I spoil him/enable him b/c I do all of these things b/c I feel like it's my job as a mother. It wasn't long before Ryan joined my mom and I in the ER and everything with the kids had been worked out, thanks to Jenn.  Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have her, my other besties and family in my life, man, I don't know what I would do without them? 

Sadly the ER doctor informed us the surgeon was booked tonight and I would have to have surgery tomorrow, ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!!
  
It was close to 10pm before I got into a room and because surgery wouldn't be until tomorrow I sent mom and Ryan home, no sense in them not getting a good nights sleep. 

Charley was just looking too cute and all grown up this morning for the funeral.

Waiting in the ER to be seen!

Got me a pretty new gown, shiny white bracelet, an iv with some amazing drugs, and I'm scheduled for gallbladder surgery sometime tomorrow morning! Happy bday to me!!!

April 21st

Happy Birthday To Me!!!

Ryan, Corby, and Charley came by first thing in the morning before Ryan had to take Charley to school. My mom came soon after and then Jenn and my sister followed. My room was filled with flowers and balloons and later cards from the kids.

9am, came and went, then 10am, then 11am and no sign of the doctor. Finally a little after 11am I got to meet my surgeon and what was supposed to be a morning or early afternoon surgery was now looking like a 4pm or 5pm surgery and I wasn't sure I was going to make it. I had not gotten much sleep b/c I have a very high tolerance for pain meds so what knocks most people out keeps me awake and totally functional. Morphine got nothing on me. Due to lack of sleep, no food in almost 24hrs, and no caffeine I began to have a headache which soon became a migraine and no one on staff seemed to be in any hurry to get me something for it. I decided to quit the pain meds, afraid it was going to make things worse and just prayed migraine medication would help and help fast. 

My migraine had started to make me super nauseous and I was in so much pain from my head I couldn't even feel my other pain. I remember looking at the clock at noon and thinking how in the world am I going to be able to make it until 4 or 5 and it was about that time that a nurse came in and told me that my surgery got moved up and they were ready for me!!! 

They wheeled me down stairs with a throw up bucket in my lap, at this point I was in bad shape. I had started dry heaving and I'm sure you can imagine what the act of dry heaving while having an angry and inflamed gallbladder could feel like, not good at all!!! 

My mom, Jenn, and my sister were still with me trying to comfort me, holding my puke bucket and trying to keep my mind off of things. At one point they told me they had to check if I was breathing, I guess exhaustion on top of pain had set in and I went from dry heaving to an almost a past out state. I was miserable and it seemed like it was taking forever.  

Ryan had left earlier for an appt. when the doctor had told us that surgery wouldn't be until later. We tried to call and text him but couldn't get a hold of him so when it was finally time for me to go back to surgery I'm not even sure he knew it was happening. I was so out of it and in so much pain I didn't even care, it's a good thing, lol, otherwise he might have been in some trouble. 

Surgery went well, although the doctor said he was very perplexed as to why my gallbladder was so angry. It was a mystery what caused it to happen so quickly and why there were not any other symptoms. Looking back knowing what I know now I do believe I had some symptoms over the last several months that I was just chalking up as other things. 

I felt like a new person, I mean in a lot of pain but abdominal pain not migraine. Migraine was gone, gallbladder was gone and I now could finally eat, even if it was just a popsicle, I didn't care. 

Definitely not the birthday I had in mind but wouldn't you know that God blessed me today so much by reminding me how truly fortunate I am. I have the most amazing family and friends!
A hubby and the best daddy ever that had a dinner last night and a day full of important meetings/appointments that he simply just skipped to sit with me and care for me in the hospital, which by the way he absolutely hates hospitals and he figured out all kid details so I didn't have to worry.
A bestie that dropped what she was doing and surprised me by showing up at the ER and sitting with me. Another bestie that took on our 3 kids to add to her 4 and watched them for basically two days and overnight. This included allowing Brady to raid a bday party at the Ranger game with her boys, breaking into my house, that looks like a tornado hit it, to get diapers, pjs and clothes for school, bathing them, feeding them, dealing with a super sore diaper rash bottom, getting them all to school and picked up from school, helping them make me cards, and dragging them all 7 to dinner by herself and to the Kendra Scott store to get a gift for me from Ryan.
Then there is my mom, sisters, and bestie who sat with me all day serving me hand and foot, putting up with my moaning and groaning, comforting me and entertaining me!
And we can't forget all my friends and family who came to visit or have called or text to not to just wish me a happy bday but offering their help and praying for me!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!! Oddly enough, despite a few hours of misery this really has been a good bday and for sure one I won't forget!

Waiting for them to wheel me back for surgery

After surgery...

 Evidently I was quite the entertainer!

My crazy sisters

Jenn brought the kids up after school, they brought me homemade cards. I was very happy to see them.

Love these people!

April 22nd

 Again no one seemed to be in any hurry today, it was 2pm before we got to go home. 

Ryan, Corby, and my mom spent the day with me. Ryan worked on his computer and Corby played work in the window, he was so so good! 

This lil man was wore out and passed out in the car on the way home!

 

I'd say this was quite an eventful couple of days to say the least! I guess what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger. 

It's times like this I realize I couldn't do it on my own and I'm not meant too. I hate to ask for help, I guess it makes me feel like less of a mom because for some reason I feel like I should be able to do it all, all by myself. I feel like I should be able to balance all that life throws at me when in reality God never expected us to do it on our own. He is always with us and provides us with everything we need to tackle any challenge, we just have to ask  and trust Him. He also gives us family and friends of faith that can give us support that we need. 

As I mom I feel like I always have to be on my A game and always have my game face on but I'm learning as I mentioned before that my realness allows others to learn from.

I don't have it all together, never have, never will. I am no Super Mom but I serve a Super God and it is through Him and only Him that I can face and tackle all that life throws out me. I will continue to strive to be the best christian, women, wife, mom, daughter, friend, etc trying to make the best out of any and every situation and learn from it and hopefully help others along the way.