most | least

When the going gets tough, the tough get going

ella — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 22:08:00 +0000

Although I am a very sad person generally at the moment, on the surface I am, of course, functioning pretty well. But every morning I wake up and for that fraction of a second everything is fine, until I remember that we have a new normal in our family life these days. So yes, I am [...]

Eight words

ella — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:24:08 +0000

He’s in a terrible mood: insomnia, bone pain in his feet, kidney pain and prednisolone rages are all combining this morning to make it, well, tricky is the least awful word I can think of to describe it. But if it’s tricky for me today, it’s an ongoing battle for him. As we drop off Ben [...]

Complications of kidney disease: heart disease

ella — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:00:00 +0000

It’s a terrible thing to write but, presuming he survives any life-threatening complications that arise from having nephrotic syndrome or from being immuno-compromised, and presuming he survives any kidney transplant he has to face, my son will probably die of heart disease, probably around the age of forty. I am forty. It’s not an age to die. ******************************* There [...]

FSGS genetic test results

ella — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:19:29 +0000

The genetic results are disappointing. William has a genetic ‘abnormality’ on the gene that is responsible for the genetic form of FSGS and while they can’t say that caused his fsgs they think it made him ‘more susceptible’ to developing idiopathic (ie non-genetic) FSGS. More worryingly, because he has a genetic abnormality it means all our [...]

Baby-bore: not quite the mother he hoped for, redux

ella — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 12:11:09 +0000

Another post from my archives, originally posted March 2005. I like this one because I could write something identical now about my current three year old, Ben. Clearly I’m not getting any better at this parenting gig. Harry, my discerning three year old, knows just how to make me feel like I’m not quite the [...]

Update

ella — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 22:06:29 +0000

William is very poorly still. Matthew and I pass at the hospital bedside with a flurry of other children in tow to switch over childcare duty/hospital duty. We try to remember to bring each other coffee and other forms of sustenance. How can it be that the entire hospital medical team has weighed in with their opinion [...]

Some things I’ve done that you probably haven’t, redux

ella — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 12:59:18 +0000

The first of my posts from the archives, originally posted March 2005 I’ve seen this all over the place. I’ve no idea where it started or whom to give credit to for it. I’m also way behind everyone posting it, but that just sums up my life really. So, ten things I’ve done that you probably [...]

I’ll be back

ella — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:40:47 +0000

William is very poorly in hospital again. Thank you to everyone who has offered to write a guest post for me - my need for others to hold the reins here has come sooner than I thought. I will arrange those properly when this current mini medical crisis is over so in the meantime I have [...]

A different kind of perfection

ella — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:14:58 +0000

I strive for pefection. I achieve, um, something quite a lot less than that. But that’s okay. My house is a mess but my children are happy. I’m busy but they learn to be resourceful and fill their own time. I don’t get anything done for myself or around the house that I would like to but there is always [...]

My failings are many…

ella — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:59:47 +0000

With four small children, life gets kind of hectic. Even so, you’d think that when your eldest son loses his first front tooth, one that was damaged as a baby and has been something of a blot on his oral landscape, one that we celebrated him losing as we all sat down together for our [...]