Covid Positive

 

Pat and I have discussed for awhile about if we wanted to share this. We have decided to share in case it will help someone.  Few days before the May long week end, Vincent started symptoms of what we thought were allergies. It was the same day that lilacs and pollen were out in full force. We thought nothing of it. By the Monday, Vincent was feeling more and more stuffed up, and developed a cough. We decided to just be safe, and because of his daycare’s policies, to get him tested on the Tuesday after the long week end. We were sure that it was just allergies. Vincent was a trooper when tested. We went to Brewer where he got tested by CHEO staff. Upon entering the building Vincent declared he was excited to be there. During the test they advised Pat that he will have to get Vincent to sit on him and hold him down. Pat said he thought he would be fine and gave Vincent a choice. Vincent wanted to sit on his own. He was SUCH a trooper and didn’t budge or cry. He was just happy to be surrounded by people. When the results came in very late on Wednesday as “detected” (positive), we were shocked. I was scared and really worried. The reason I was so worried is about is past lung issues from birth and then when he had RSV.  Pat and I had to go get tested on the Thursday. It was my 3^rd time getting tested. Vincent was soo upset because he wasn’t going to get tested again. Pat and I both came back negative. Since Vincent is too young to be “locked” in his room unless for bathroom for 10 days. Pat and I’s 14-day quarantine wouldn’t be able to start until his 10 days from him being contagious. That is before he shows symptoms. I will not give actual dates.  There was NO way I would lock up my 3 yr. old in his room. If it meant Pat and I would be more likely to catch it, then so be it. We weren’t going to leave him alone. Pat and I’s vaccine hadn’t kicked in since we had just gotten it the Friday night before the long week end.

Vincent is currently doing really well. He has recovered. The worse thing he got was a brutal cough. We let him sleep as long as he wanted.  He rebounded very quick. Isolation has been really tough on us. We had to rely on people to drop us off groceries. We couldn’t leave the house or our small backyard. Vincent doesn’t understand why he can’t go run in the grass behind our backyard. It’s really sad.  He always tells us “I feel better ok, I can run”. We have less then a week left of isolation. I am happy we spent money on buying him more kinetic sand, as that entertains him a lot. I feel bad as we have been making him watch TV more then normal. He normally watches about 10-15 minutes of TV maybe every few days.  The way we see it, we are in survival mode. We just need to get through this isolation. We have NEVER been stuck in the house this long. It really sucks. Vincent is back to his old happy self. I am keeping up with his learning so he still learns some things during our time stuck at home.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me so we can chat.

Depression is back

 

As most of you know I went off work back in November due to me not being emotionally stable. I am bipolar and my depression had gotten to me. My family doctor thought it would be best for me to get off work a while, until I get back to my old self.  A lot of people knew I was bipolar but not that it wasn’t stable. Mental health is very hard. It’s invisible most of the time. You can fake smile and everyone will think that everything is alright. I had started feeling off back in mid-October. I did what I usually did, which is to fake my mood and hope it gets better. By mid-November it had gotten to a point where all I did was cry alone after everyone else was asleep. I also didn’t have any energy to do anything. I wasn’t sleeping at night and during the day I wasn’t sleeping either. I just had so much going on in my head. At the same time I was starting to feel physically unwell. One night I had to go to the ER since I had a hard time breathing and my heart rhythm seemed off. They did blood work, ECG, and x-rays. The reason for the ECG is because two medications I am on can cause irregular heart rhythms.  Luckily there was no issues with my heart. They did notice that my thyroid numbers were low. Due to me having hypothyroidism, the doctors had changed doses after Vincent was born, but now needed another dose update. The low thyroid numbers can cause me to be more emotional. I got a new dose of medication and that takes up to 6 weeks to stabilize. I was also diagnosed with seasonal depression. Therefore I was also put on a higher antidepressant and advised to use a therapy light. When all this happened, it was about the week before my birthday.  The week of my birthday I got a fever out of nowhere that wouldn’t lower. With Covid-19 means I had to go get a Covid test.  Happy Birthday to me as I got the test on my birthday. The results came back as negative less than 24 hours later. I was happy, I went on just living my life day by day. Around Christmas my depression took another nose dive. Everyone is feeling the same this year with the lockdowns and stay at home orders. I just really missed my family in Sudbury. It was hard not to be able to celebrate Christmas and Vincent’s birthday with them. Last time I got to visit was back in July. That is pretty far away and yet we still have no clue when the next visit is. The only thing keeping me going is Vincent. I am happy he is young enough not to understand what is going on.  At the beginning of January I had another phone appointment with my family doctor. We decided that I should look into therapy. I started talking to a social worker. I have had 3 visits up to now and it has made a world of difference. I am finally feeling like my old self. I am well enough to go back to work. With that being said, I am going back to work on Family day (February 15^th).

Mental health is a big thing. With Covid everyone is suffering one way or another. I do not see an end to this pandemic. It’s important for people to talk.  If you haven’t heard from someone close to in a few days or weeks, message them, text them. Video chat with friends and family. This will help everyone pass winter. We can’t go spend time outside as much due to the weather. I do try to go outside with Vincent as much as I can but when it’s too cold it’s nearly impossible.

Please help end the stigma of mental health.

ENT appointment Feb 2nd

 

This morning, Vincent had two appointments at CHEO. The first was a hearing test and the second was with the Nurse Practitioner. This was supposed to be his last appointment before being released. That did not go as planned.

The hearing test almost took a full house. Vincent was really calm and was able to sit through it all. The first part was him having probes put in his ears to check his ears. This is where we saw that his ear drums aren’t moving the way they are supposed to. We also saw that there was a lot of congestion. Usually this would mean an ear infection he just got over. Vincent hasn’t had an ear infection in over a year and he has had his ears checked with his pediatrician two months ago. The second part of the test was us sitting in a sound proof chamber. Since Vincent is three he is a tad too old for the baby/toddler test but couldn’t understand the kids test. They had to do a mix of both. They got the same results they usually get but it wasn’t a thorough test they wanted. They advised it wasn’t Vincent’s fault since he was too young. Hopefully in six months he will be old enough to comprehend and most likely will.  Vincent can hear pretty good but when it comes to very high pitch sounds it doesn’t phase him. The sound was deafening me but he didn’t hear it. This is when I started to become discouraged. Vincent was still so happy at the end of the test since he thought it was play time as they were playing with toys.  Vincent got to pick a sticker at the end which made him so excited.

The second appointment was with the nurse. She checked him out, watched videos of him sleeping and then talked with me. She advised she didn’t feel comfortable releasing him just yet since we weren’t able to get a thorough hearing test and the liquid/congestion in his ears are still coming back. She also saw how he breathes and wants us to talk about in six months to put a scope in his nose to check his adenoids. That might be the reason there is still congestion in his ears. Vincent’s speech is still flourishing so she doesn’t want to do it just yet. Another reason why she didn’t want to release him is because she is afraid once he starts school we see a delay and that it takes another year to get back into the ENT clinic at CHEO since there is a huge wait list. I was ok with it. I was sad but I want to do what’s best for Vincent. At least the appointments don’t traumatize him since he is very well taken care of at CHEO.

After the appointment I dropped him off at daycare, He ran in the house and saw his friends. He didn’t turn around to say bye.

Vincent 2 years old

 

I haven’t written a blog in a long time. I am almost a month behind from writing about what Vincent did when he was two. This year was a big one for him. At the beginning of the year he was walking.  He was still in physio. Vincent had his last session of physio before covid and that ended to be his last forever.  The last session he was taught how to jump on a trampoline.  After that appointment, Pat and I bought him a trampoline. This was the BEST decision ever since the next day he was able to jump without being on the trampoline.   Vincent also had a hard time running and kicking the ball. He was able to catch up. In June, we had a virtual check up with his physio therapist. She was SOOOO shocked on his progress and released him from physio. This was music to my heart. One less therapist.  Until June of last year, Vincent was only saying a couple of words but would repeat them. He did an speech therapy assessment and we were giving exercises to help him get better with words until Covid is better and we can do the in person therapy.  We worked hard on the exercises and Vincent started talking a lot. He wouldn’t stop talking. In August he started an English daycare and within 5 days we was speaking both English and French. His vocabulary has flourished and everyone noticed. In October, I was contacted by the speech therapy clinic to set up an appointment. I requested another assessment since Vincent was now saying paragraphs instead of 2 word sentences. I did the assessment with the therapist and he was also released from speech therapy. This is another great thing. Potty training hasn’t been easy but we are getting there. He is pretty good for pee but poop is a BIG no.  Vincent has a lot of popular sayings, these are his favourites:

Ah non
I'm stuck
Camion come grandpapa
I'm ok man ou mom
L'auto va boom
Des avions
C'est daddy
Chanson qui chante: Twinkle little star. Roue de l'autobus. Blippi. Happy Birthday.
A plutard
Je t'aime
Merci beaucoup
Dit merci
Camion pompier
Tu vois tu
Ou aller
2 ans
Ohhh beaucoup d'autobus
Ah non un mess
Mess sur table
Poof dans l'eau
Maman mange
Écoute pas
J'ai pété
Bateaux à grandpapa
bebe jama (pyjama)
Chicken hamburger (chicken burger)
Chipmunk (chick a Munk)
Vincent was singing 5 little monkeys. Here what he said "no more doctor's jumping on the bed. It hurts"

Last January 2020, we had our first international family trip. We went to visit grandmaman and grandpapa Saumure in Florida.  We had a blast and Vincent loved seeing all the boats, animals, swimming and snuggling with his grandparents. The week went by way to fast.

With covid we all had to start wearing masks. Vincent LOVES wearing a mask which is good since we then can safely bring him do groceries.

As mentioned earlier, Vincent started daycare since I went back to work. He absolutely loves daycare and has a girlfriend. Her name is Marlene. He is so smitten by her. He loves his daycare friends.  Before starting daycare, Vincent spent a few weeks at the cottage with his grandparents while Pat and I worked. Vincent had so much fun swimming, boating, sitting by the fire and playing.

This December, we spent a lot of time driving around to see Christmas lights. Vincent loved seeing lights. He would thank us for bringing him to see lights and all the house had 1 strand of lights. Christmas was special since he got excited for ALL his gifts. The only good part about covid Christmas is that Vincent got to spend it with his grandparents Saumure. We got to see my parents on Christmas eve for a quick visit. I just really wished we could of seen all his counsins and aunts and uncles.