An update and some randomness thrown in for good measure.

I posted numerous blogs today as I had much catching up to do. I’m not sure if they all fit on the first page, so if not, be sure to check older posts so you don’t miss any.

John has a complete rupture of his bicipital tendon and has torn ⅔ of the rotator cuff on his left arm. He and I will be meeting with the surgeon again on the 27th of this month. He will be in a cast/brace with his arm pinned to his side for 6 weeks following surgery. This should be interesting in our house, don’t you think? The surgery is a necessity as if he tears the remaining third it will be unlikely that the doctors will be able to repair the shoulder.

Áine had a visit with her orthopedic surgeon yesterday afternoon and he is pleased with her progress. She will be fitted for new leg braces over the summer and she was the subject of a presentation her doctor gave at a national conference recently. And it turns out she has a stress fracture in her right heel. That would explain the not wanting to bear weight and the falling down. Sometimes it’s the obvious things that we miss with her.


Since the visit with the endocrinologist at CHLA was a bust, we were referred to a neuroendocrinologist at UCLA. Go Bruins! We called for an appointment and even gave the name of our contact to get in as soon as we could and we were given the first available appointment of October 7th at 8:00am. Sigh. (Update... some strings were pulled and we now have an appointment on June 4th!)

Brendan will be attending the Prom at his school on May 16th. I’ll be sure to post pictures. Ciara helped put together his ensemble.


Ciara is counting down the days to the end of the school year and has set goals this summer to learn some new cooking skills with Momma, catch up on her scrapbooking, read lots of books, and relax. That’s my girl!


Family update over... WARNING... some venting ahead.



Here’s a tip for what might not be appropriate behavior in a crowded waiting room at a childrens hospital. It might not be appropriate to whisper sweet nothings to your significant other. It might not be appropriate to nuzzle said significant other’s chest. And I do mean the chest of the female kind. It might not be appropriate to kissy-face in the waiting room. It might not be appropriate to slurp on the neck of said significant other. It might not be appropriate to express your pleasure audibly. It might not be… well, I think you might get the picture. In all my years of waiting in hospital, therapy, and doctor waiting rooms this took the prize.


And lastly, as most of you know if I never hear another word come out of Jenny McCarthy’s mouth, my life will be complete. That being said, I was facing a sleepless night the other night and while folding laundry turned on the only thing I could find on the telly – Chelsea Handler. I think the woman is a trip. Lo and behold Jenny McCarthy was her guest. Too tired to change the remote, I thought I’d give it a try since before Jenny forced herself into the autism world I found her rather entertaining. The two women were funny and I breathed a sigh of relief. You’d think I’d know better, wouldn’t you? At the tail end of the second segment, Chelsea whips out the “autism expert’s” third book. Jenny admitted to being tired of talking about autism and while she won’t be writing any more books on the matter - and I thank a benevolent God for that – she won’t be going away any time soon. Do you hear that, CDC and AAP? (Can’t you see them shaking in their collective boots?) Anyway, the woman has said some things that have sent me over the edge, but her pontifications on this night absolutely were the topper. Acknowledging her guest’s weariness of talking about autism, Chelsea asked her to share the one thing she’d like to tell mothers out there. Jenny proceeded to inform all of us that autism is preventable. That women need to cleanse their bodies of toxins. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, remove your mercury fillings. Ah, so it’s the mother’s fault that we keep birthing these children with autism. Interesting. It’s amazing how one person – who has an enormous and supportive following – can forever change all the work that has happened in the 50 years since autism was first acknowledged as an actual diagnosis. Moms in the early days of the autism diagnosis were the culprits of their children’s affliction because they withheld love. They were dubbed “refrigerator mothers”. Then we moved away from that tripe and the rightful definition of autism as a neurobiological disorder aka THE CHILDREN ARE BORN WITH DIFFERENT BRAINS finally made itself known. And now we have the autism expert Jenny McCarthy telling the world that Moms can prevent autism. Good to know, Jenny. I don’t smoke nor drink. Damn it all. Guess I should have replaced my fillings 16+ years ago. Thanks for the info. I never knew I had the power to stop a neurobiological disease.