
We celebrated grandson Cason’s birthday this weekend. Chaos on two tiny feet but so much like his Dad was at that age. Happy, affectionate, independent and going strong morning to night. He is just too cute. π

We celebrated grandson Cason’s birthday this weekend. Chaos on two tiny feet but so much like his Dad was at that age. Happy, affectionate, independent and going strong morning to night. He is just too cute. π
It’s a chilly day in paradise today.
Time to put together some lunch for Dom.Β I made an Apple Crisp yesterday, so at least desert is ready.
Keep safe – and warm!
As summer winds down and Dan has returned to work, things are coming together.
I miss Kat on my walks but it gives me a bit of freedom to pick up the pace and extend my walks. This morning I went 5.5 kilometers! YAY!
I had my five year old grandson Dominic for a few hours yesterday. His father (my son) wanted his middle name to be ‘Danger’ when he was born. There are days when that would have been so appropriate. Yesterday was one of the days! He was full of energy and bad ideas from the minute he arrived. Fortunately, I was able to channel most of that energy into creative and slightly messy activities.
I finally fertilized and soaked all of our cedars. That was a two or three day project but I am glad that it is done.
I scrubbed the deck on the kids’ playhouse, wiped down the railing and polished the lites. I usually have that done much earlier in the season but it was one of those things that I just did not get around to. π
I trimmed and mowed our lawn last evening after Dan went to work. I even got the grass clippings bag hauled to the back gate and into the trash bin! I was so proud of myself. π€
I also cleaned all the branches and debris off of our neighbours lawn, mowed it, and swept her driveway. Our neighbour lost her husband a few years ago and a couple of years later suffered a serious stroke. She is in a rehabilitation/longterm care centre. They took a lot of pride in their home and took such good care of it. I do not know why there is no one to maintain it or check up on it now. They both had family living around here. π€· We take turns with the neighbour on the other side of it doing what we can – making the lawn looked taken care of. We are just trying to make it look somewhat lived in until someone takes it over.
Hope everyone is having a great week! Take care out thereπ
Now that I have my grandson every Wednesday, I am on the search for nearby playgrounds. The one we went to this Wednesday had an abundance of great equipment for him to enjoy. The only problem was that the walk was a bit much for Dom. On the way there he asked me twice if we were still in Regina and on the way back he asked if we were still in Canada. π
I do not think the park I went to this morning even had a name but it was a relatively short walk with a few points of interest for Dom along the way.
I think this walk is worth a shot with Dom. The worst he can do is clutch his heart, drop to his knees and tell me he is not going to make it. That is a whole other story. π€¦
Have a great day. I hope you our enjoying the same beautiful weather we have today!
Keeping our grandson Dominic this afternoon.Β He’s a cute kid but the energy of a fifty pound pingong ball in motion.
Once he burns off another hour of energy, we are heading home to bake cookies.Β
Hope you all having a great (peaceful) day! (I remember those days π)
It is hard to believe Rory is fifteen, going into grade ten, and looking to start drivers training –
And, he is SO big. π
Happy Birthday, Rory! We love you so much! We wish you all the best going forward. Grandma & Grandpa D. πππππππππ
Chronic pain is part of life for many people. We have a genetic collagen disorder in our family that causes migraines, muscle cramps, IBS and severe joint pain, amongst other things. I, am relatively pain free most of the time. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for my mother and cannot be said for my son Mark, my daughter Jennifer and for her children. This was something that was relatively accepted in our family until my grandson Rory became virtually incapacitated from pain as a young tot.
When Rory was an infant he was very calm and quiet. Any amount of activity was followed by a nap. He did not complain or act as though he was in any particular discomfort. He was just a very sweet baby. As he got a bit older, it became very obvious that he had major issues. He had trouble speaking, walking, climbing stairs, his eyesight deteriorated, he had poor dexterity and he had very little stamina. During the day, it was obvious that he was always suffering from some degree of pain. At night, he would wake up screaming in pain. Jennifer started taking him to doctors looking for answers and relief for him.
For several years, Jennifer took Rory to their family doctor, who in turn sent him to one specialist after another, who ordered one test or procedure after another. When tests came back negative for potentially fatal conditions, the doctors would advise Jennifer to give Rory pain medication and more pain medication and to be grateful that he was not dying. The fact that the quality of his life was no great hell did not register as an issue with them.
Eventually, it was determined that Rory suffered from some form of a genetic collagen disorder that he would eventually outgrow – not that my mother, who had lived to be 95, or my siblings who are in their 70’s, or my children who are in their 40’s had ever outgrown their chronic pain – but Rory would.
When Rory was about twelve, he was accepted as a patient by a physician who specialized in pain management. With his help, and a lot of work and encouragement from his entire family, Rory was able to work through his pain to the point where he was able to start building up muscle tone, which helped to make the pain manageable.
This spring, Rory graduated from elementary school. This fall, he started high school where he has been managing fairly well despite ongoing issues. He does extremely well academically. We are all happy for him and for how far he has come in managing his pain. However, it is still an issue and it remains to be seen how well he will function as life goes on.
The thing is, how long are medical practitioners going to obsess over the length of one’s life with no concern for the quality of that life? If medical practitioners and medical researchers do not feel that severe chronic pain is an issue worth addressing, who does?
Don’t know how many times I can get Grandpa to strike a pose holding Cason in his arms . We should be good for a few more years – Cason is getting more comfortable with the idea.
Aren’t grandbabies the best?