The biggest update in the world! in A new start in the same life

I haven’t written in my DE since January but so much has happened since then. Hold on to your butts.

First of all, I am currently employed. After failing miserably at a long-term care facility and a hospital before realizing that the RT field is not a place for me, I finally have been at a job for four months and no thoughts of quitting. I working at PetSmart in the Salon as a bather working towards becoming a groomer. I like dogs much more than I like humans. It can be frustrating. I have been bitten, scratched, licked, drenched, and so much more. Through all of that, I still enjoy it. I hang out with dogs all day. It’s nice. It’s less stressful but I feel fairly confident in my abilities. Nail trims are still iffy but that comes with time. I am much better than I was when I started.

So the kids. Izzy is officially a woman. I can’t believe she is only 10 and is going through puberty. The hormonal changes caused quite a few issues with her. She talked about suicide at home and at school. She was constantly with the counselor who kept in contact with us. I took her to the ER when I found that she had taken around 15mg of melatonin. Her psychiatrist did not do anything following that though. She struggled with school to the point where her teacher allowed her to bring a stuffed animal daily and gave her breaks. She started therapy so hopefully she can start to feel better that. She has been better lately. I really think she need an anxiety med but she already takes her ADHD med and a sleeping med. I just don’t want her to feel how I feel. Trapped on meds for an unknown amount of time. She is different but I don’t want her to feel like her meds make her more different than the other kids. If that even makes sense. It has been heartbreaking watching her fight each day, knowing that I can’t do anything to change how she feels. It just sucks. I’ve made so many mistakes raising her but I hope that now, when she needs me so much, I am able to be there for her. I hope that this summer break will help her even out and work through the issues she has.

So Thia is just hanging out as the middle child. She is still struggling with reading. I am going to look into a tutor or something. She tries to read but constantly switches words or randomly adds in a different word. It’s just not my area to help. I am not patient enough and get frustrated faster than she does. David is much better at it. Besides that, Thia finished dance and decided she didn’t want to do it anymore. She seemed to have fun doing it but I guess not. At least she did the recital and got cute dance pictures. I want to find something that she likes that can just for her. It’s hard to be a middle child. I want her to feel special. I was thinking about singing lessons because she loves to sing. She wants to be a singer when she grows up. Might as well encourage her.

That leaves Indyanna. She turned 4 in April and got registered for preschool! The last kid is starting school! I am both excited and sad. I would have had more kids if I could so it’s bittersweet seeing my youngest not as a baby/toddler but as a preschooler. I miss babies. Le sigh. Anywho, Indy only weighs 30 pounds. The doctors aren’t worried because she growing along her own growth chart. She is just tiny. Pretty much like the other two kiddos. She is pretty hilarious though. It’s amazing what she picks up or overheard. Lately, she has been saying things are off limits. I like watching her learn.

Moving on to Nova. Now. Nova is my old grey cat. My sister had her for 2 years and I’ve had her for 12. So she is 14/15 years old. Back in January, I noticed she had stopped cleaning herself. I shaved her and found out that under her massive amount of fur, she had gotten pretty skinny. This cat usually weighed about 17 pounds. She was acting funny and wouldn’t use her back legs. So Izzy and I rushed her to the emergency vet. I thought I was going to have to put her down. Not the case. The vet gave her some antibiotics for a UTI and bladder infection, an appetite stimulant, and ran every test possible. The vet also prayed over Nova which I found a bit odd. Probably because I am not religious at all. I took her to her normal vet a few days later for blood work. Turns out she has hyperthyroidism. I started putting cream for it in her ear twice a day. When I started, she weighed 7.2 pounds. Her first follow up, she weighed 7.6 pounds. Her thyroid levels had decreased but it seemed like there might be a kidney issue along with it. I took her in about 3 weeks ago for another follow up. Her thyroid levels are still decreasing and her kidney levels are increasing. She weighed 5 pounds. Someone please explain to me how she lost weight while her thyroid is almost in the normal range. She eats. I have to take her back in next week to get another check. I was so excited when I found out that her hyperthyroidism could be easily treated and that I wouldn’t have to put her down. And now, I’m sitting here wondering if I am making the right choice when it doesn’t seem to be working. My worst fear is that everything will be under control and then her kidneys will start failing. It’s normal to have kidney disease in older cats but I hope they don’t fail.

Other things that have happened this year are our lovely trip to California. That was awesome. We went thought a military/veteran nonprofit. It was such an amazing experience. We drove out and managed to miss a lot of flooding to the east and a massive snowstorm in Wyoming. The drive took 3 days there and 2 days back. It was pretty scenic which was nice. I loved Salt Lake City. It just appears almost out of nowhere. It was so pretty. The retreat had a lot of cool activities. We did rock climbing. We did a ropes course in the trees. It was in Northern California so it was in the redwoods. Those tress are so tall. We met other families like ours which is always good for the girls. I think it helps them see that we are not the only wounded warrior family around. After the retreat ended, we got a vacation rental in San Jose and did some touristy things. We went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Cannery Row, Fisherman’s Wharf, the Winchester Mystery House, and some tiny zoo thing. It was a fantastic trip. It crossed off a lot of states on my list too.

We are going to South Dakota next month. This trip has been planned since last September. I rented a big house because we are going up with my brother and sister-in-law and their kids. My sister isn’t going because of her agoraphobia so we are taking her two kids while she watches our dogs. My dad is coming up and is going to hang out for a few days as well. I hope it is good but I have a feeling that there might be some issues. I haven’t shared a roof with my brother in like 15 years. I will keep my fingers crossed that everything goes well.

Last big event of this year is that we got picked by a different nonprofit to go to Orlando in August. We are going August 5-11. We are driving because it’s cheaper than 5 plane tickets and a rental car. We are going to stop in Atlanta for a day or two to hang out with David’s friends. The trip comes with tickets to Universal, SeaWorld, and LEGOLAND. Those tickets are hella expensive. I know Indyanna is still small and won’t be able to ride anything but we would be insane to pass up this opportunity. Sure, it’s not going to Disney but meh. I would rather go to Universal. I know we will going to Disney eventually. It’s a big surprise because we didn’t thing it would happen.

I have been considering going to DC for the Foundation in November but I don’t know the exact dates yet. The Nebraska Fellow was Indianapolis like two weeks ago when the Today Show? (I don’t remember which network covered the caregiver stuff with Tom Hanks) and shared her story. I haven’t met her in person but I have talked to her. The fellowships have changed so much since I was the fellow. The Foundation has changed too. It’s so big now. It’s helping so many people which is so fantastic. I try to stay active and do events when I can but it’s hard since Omaha isn’t a Hidden Hero city yet. Why, I do not know. Either way, it’s crazy to see how big it has become. I will always have the title of first Nebraska Fellow though.

So this is long enough. I ran out of other things to talk about as well. I hope that I get back into writing more so I don’t have to make massive update entries. Congrats to anyone who made it all the way through!