Yesterday was my sweet Mike's birthday. One of the things he wanted was the food grinder attachment for our Kitchen aid mixer. He has been wanting to grind some of his own hamburger and sausage. Sometimes you can get chuck meat cheaper than hamburger so this could prove to be a good money saver to grind our own. Mike can be quite a cook when he has the time and finds it very relaxing.
I made him a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. There is chopped walnuts in the frosting. The cake recipe came from a Taste of Home cookbook and is one of Mike's favorite cakes to eat. Happy birthday Honey, We love you!In the top photo you can see Emily on the left. I wanted to give you an update on her shoulder pain that I had mentioned a while back. This pain has been quite a mystery and had started back in July. Everything had come back normal in the way of x-rays, lab tests and MRI. We've been trying a number of things to relieve her pain. After a 3 month wait she was finally able to see a doctor a pediatric rheumatology clinic. They have given her the diagnosis of fibromyalgia (a diagnosis for mystery pain) Actually she meets a lot of the fibromyalgia criteria and there was a lot of technical information given to us. Fibromyalgia can often start during adolescence and there is hope that she will grow out of it. We are praying she does. In the meantime she is in the beginning stages of trying various forms of treatment. (Diane, if you happen to read this post, thank you for all the advice you gave me prior to this. It really helped out at the doctor visit.) Poor Emily, as this pain has increased month by month and now radiates up into her head as well as down into her arms and legs. For the most part Emily is so good about it all, but there have been times she will come and just sit on my lap and cry. I am so glad she is getting her education online, a program through our public school. She goes into a classroom setting two days a week and does the remainder of her work at home. She can work for a couple of hours and then rest, get up and finish her studies for the day. On the days she goes into the classroom she can leave early due to her pain. They are flexible at the school so it is such a blessing. Please keep Emily in your prayers. She is only 14 and is such a sweet child. When things change I'll be sure to update all of you. We love you too Emily.
Have a blessed Sunday,
Nancy
Oh Nancy I wish I could come give Emily a big hug! You know I have had fibro for 17 yrs. and what has helped me for the last 5 yrs. is cymbalta. There are other newer drugs out now too such as Lyrica that are good also. I'm so glad she is able to school at home and rest when needed, that will help her ALOT. I will keep her and you in my prayers sweetie, hugs to you both!
ReplyDeleteNancy, the cake looks delicious! Happy Birthday to Mike!
ReplyDeleteYour daughter is really becoming an inspiration to me....we so often take so much for granted, and I admire her strength (it takes strength to cry, too!) and courage through all of this. She is such a beautiful girl, with an equally beautiful family! Hugs to you all!
happy birthday mike--hope you all had a great day.
ReplyDeleteand my thoughts are with you and emily. your heart (as a mother) must be breaking.
I hope she finds relief soon--I was just @ Sunflower market--I saw a book on natural ways to help with fibromyalgia, maybe it can help a little.
One of my Etsy friends in Ottawa is Meghann of Little Studio Jewels. She also suffers from fibromyalgia. You and Emily could contact her for words of wisdom and advice. (And her jewellry is beautiful.)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that we all will keep Emily in our prayers. It just breaks my heart to know that she is in such pain. I hope the doctor is right, and that eventually her symptoms will subside.
ReplyDeleteI was given your blog address by a fellow Etsy artist, John Toft. He steered me to you because I also have fibromyalgia. If there is anything I can do to help, feel free to email me at: meg(at) littlestudio(dot) ca
ReplyDeleteBest of health,
Meghann