 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Our
Journey:
Journey:
Avalon's Army of Angels
| February 3, 2009 Neuropsych feedback and the Blue Jackets |
Today I had a meeting with the Dr. who had done Avalon's neuropsych evaluation. Today, I
found out how far the hospital will go to cover up what has been done to her...
We actually received the official evaluation report in the mail a few days ago. They send the
report ahead of time, so parents can peruse it before this meeting. Frankly, I think they
presume all parents are knuckle dragging simpletons incapable of understanding their reports,
which is why they then schedule the official appointment to go over it. I'm neither simple nor
illiterate. For me, today's meeting was all about addressing the issues I vehemently disagreed
with.
For reasons many of you may be able to correctly deduce (because I give you far more credit
than I was bestowed with today...), I won't go into much detail about how poorly this meeting
went, or what I was told by a hospital employee I ran into as I was leaving the building. What I
will say is this...
A) If the parent reports that the child forgets entire events a day or two after they
happen...how does showing that child a paper with pictures on it, and asking questions 20
minutes later indicate NO memory problems?
B) If a child is advanced in her vocabulary and language skills, how can she be in the bottom
5% of her learning abilities? (wouldn't it be more likely she had learned at a normal/advanced
pace...but then lost skills to slide back down to where she is now?)
C) If the catheter in her brain stem really didn't damage anything - why is there a dark area,
and why does she have no right side peripheral vision?
D) If a mom has warned repeatedly that the child tires VERY EASILY, could perhaps, a 4 hour
test not be indicative of her true abilities, attention, and cooperation level?
E) And finally, if a mother has mentioned that her child NOW often obsesses over odd
subjects and objects, is terrified in public settings (with a past history of LOVING THEM), and is
often very sad/frustrated...how does this aching, longing child suddenly become ADHD
(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ODD (oppositional defiance disorder). This is the
same child who performed PERFECTLY on an adult eye exam last week...with no complaints.
Hmmm...anyone else see issues?
OH, and for the record - people who majored in science related fields in college, and whose IQ
qualifies them for Mensa membership...DESPISE it when someone feels the need to explain a
bell curve to them as if they were 6. Particularly when the
I-think-I'm-so-much-smarter-than-you human feels the need to do so again...and again...and
again......
Enough said.
found out how far the hospital will go to cover up what has been done to her...
We actually received the official evaluation report in the mail a few days ago. They send the
report ahead of time, so parents can peruse it before this meeting. Frankly, I think they
presume all parents are knuckle dragging simpletons incapable of understanding their reports,
which is why they then schedule the official appointment to go over it. I'm neither simple nor
illiterate. For me, today's meeting was all about addressing the issues I vehemently disagreed
with.
For reasons many of you may be able to correctly deduce (because I give you far more credit
than I was bestowed with today...), I won't go into much detail about how poorly this meeting
went, or what I was told by a hospital employee I ran into as I was leaving the building. What I
will say is this...
A) If the parent reports that the child forgets entire events a day or two after they
happen...how does showing that child a paper with pictures on it, and asking questions 20
minutes later indicate NO memory problems?
B) If a child is advanced in her vocabulary and language skills, how can she be in the bottom
5% of her learning abilities? (wouldn't it be more likely she had learned at a normal/advanced
pace...but then lost skills to slide back down to where she is now?)
C) If the catheter in her brain stem really didn't damage anything - why is there a dark area,
and why does she have no right side peripheral vision?
D) If a mom has warned repeatedly that the child tires VERY EASILY, could perhaps, a 4 hour
test not be indicative of her true abilities, attention, and cooperation level?
E) And finally, if a mother has mentioned that her child NOW often obsesses over odd
subjects and objects, is terrified in public settings (with a past history of LOVING THEM), and is
often very sad/frustrated...how does this aching, longing child suddenly become ADHD
(attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) and ODD (oppositional defiance disorder). This is the
same child who performed PERFECTLY on an adult eye exam last week...with no complaints.
Hmmm...anyone else see issues?
OH, and for the record - people who majored in science related fields in college, and whose IQ
qualifies them for Mensa membership...DESPISE it when someone feels the need to explain a
bell curve to them as if they were 6. Particularly when the
I-think-I'm-so-much-smarter-than-you human feels the need to do so again...and again...and
again......
Enough said.
On an entirely different, and much more positive note...we went to another Blue Jackets game
tonight! Wahoooooo!!!!
This time, we actually bought the tickets. Typically, we can only attend games if we're the lucky
recipients of tickets from one of the local cancer charities we belong to. The fact is, while we
have an abundance of love and laughter in our house...we have an incredible lack of funds.
Tonight's game was as much of a surprise, as it was pure chance.
Last week, Aurora ended up taking care of the other three kids a ridiculous amount of time. As
I've mentioned before, she tries to be kind to me and watch Ambrosia and Anam for me, if
Avalon has an appointment. Because I knew I'd need her for the multi-hour neurosurgery
appointment on Thursday, and my appointment on Friday, Nick had agreed to take off
Wednesday - to keep the kiddos during Avalon's neuro-ophthalmology appointment, and the
fashion show that was supposed to follow it. As you all know, Mother Nature foiled the fashion
show plans. What you don't know, is what it did to our family.
You see, Nick has begun driving a snow plow for a friend of his. Its not one of the big plows, its
just one of the blades mounted on a 4 wheel drive truck. They're hoping to build a bit of a
Winter time snow/ice business to supplement our incomes. (as of yet, we've seen daddy gone
for multitudes of hours while they worked on the truck - then days during this storm with not
ONE DIME coming into our house..but I'm trying to believe it will happen) What that means is,
a giant snow/ice fiasco hit our area, right when he was supposed to be helping out Aurora.
Translation, she was responsible for her siblings for way, WAY too much last week.
As a "payment" for services rendered, I thought I'd check out Ebay and see if I could find Blue
Jackets tickets for her. Sure enough, I found a couple of auctions for tickets to upcoming
games. I bid on two auctions, figuring my pathetic lowball bids had no chance of winning, but
I'd give it a shot anyway. Imagine my shock when I won BOTH auctions! I got 4 tickets to the
same game, and a free parking pass - for $40 dollars total!! That's downright insane. The
pair of tickets Aurora and I used were in the lower bowl, behind a goal. The price printed on
them was $75 each! We figured with the normal prices of the tickets, and the normal parking
rate - I ended up buying our evening for 80% off the actual price. That's my kind of shopping!
Nick and Ambrosia sat in the other two seats. They were in the 3rd row of the upper bowl - still
fantastic seats. In fact, we've all figured out, we like the higher seats, you can see all the
action better. The one place we haven't been able to try is mid-ice, in the lower bowl. I think
that might be fun because you wouldn't be stuck close to only one goal - and you'd be closer
to the action. Just musing...I'm sure we'll never be able to afford those!
When I realized I'd won both auctions, I quickly called my sister and began begging. She was
sweet enough to agree to come hang out with Avalon and Anam. Avalon asked from the time
her eyes opened this morning, "When's Aunt Nettie coming? Is it time for Nettie yet?" No
question, the little ones are convinced they got the better deal.
While the four of us had a tremendous amount of fun at the game, the Blue Jackets didn't -
they lost. Darn it all! They also lost when we had the glass seats a few days ago... Aurora
has become convinced that I'm a brain-warping-Jinx-a-nator. Sadly...I'm beginning to worry
about it myself. Honestly, I don't think the Jackets have ever won a game I've attended!
Aurora went with Aunt Nettie as a 14th birthday present...they won. She's says if she goes to
another game without me and they win - I'm forbidden from ever attending again. She's got me
so weirded out, I've vowed to not go for the rest of the year. The play-offs are finally in their
reach - and I love these guys too much to take it away from them!
As for the little ones, they had the time of their lives. We came home to tales of a monstrous,
family-room sized fort. Avalon was convinced that Aunt Nettie was brilliant for dreaming up
something so INCREDIBLE. Anam was convinced that it should have been allowed to stay up
forever, and was highly honked it didn't. Aunt Nettie? Well, she was convinced our dog is
retarded. He insisted that all 100 pounds of him had to be fully inside the magnificent Fort
Nettie.
Aunt Nettie had a fair point. The dog is a dork.
tonight! Wahoooooo!!!!
This time, we actually bought the tickets. Typically, we can only attend games if we're the lucky
recipients of tickets from one of the local cancer charities we belong to. The fact is, while we
have an abundance of love and laughter in our house...we have an incredible lack of funds.
Tonight's game was as much of a surprise, as it was pure chance.
Last week, Aurora ended up taking care of the other three kids a ridiculous amount of time. As
I've mentioned before, she tries to be kind to me and watch Ambrosia and Anam for me, if
Avalon has an appointment. Because I knew I'd need her for the multi-hour neurosurgery
appointment on Thursday, and my appointment on Friday, Nick had agreed to take off
Wednesday - to keep the kiddos during Avalon's neuro-ophthalmology appointment, and the
fashion show that was supposed to follow it. As you all know, Mother Nature foiled the fashion
show plans. What you don't know, is what it did to our family.
You see, Nick has begun driving a snow plow for a friend of his. Its not one of the big plows, its
just one of the blades mounted on a 4 wheel drive truck. They're hoping to build a bit of a
Winter time snow/ice business to supplement our incomes. (as of yet, we've seen daddy gone
for multitudes of hours while they worked on the truck - then days during this storm with not
ONE DIME coming into our house..but I'm trying to believe it will happen) What that means is,
a giant snow/ice fiasco hit our area, right when he was supposed to be helping out Aurora.
Translation, she was responsible for her siblings for way, WAY too much last week.
As a "payment" for services rendered, I thought I'd check out Ebay and see if I could find Blue
Jackets tickets for her. Sure enough, I found a couple of auctions for tickets to upcoming
games. I bid on two auctions, figuring my pathetic lowball bids had no chance of winning, but
I'd give it a shot anyway. Imagine my shock when I won BOTH auctions! I got 4 tickets to the
same game, and a free parking pass - for $40 dollars total!! That's downright insane. The
pair of tickets Aurora and I used were in the lower bowl, behind a goal. The price printed on
them was $75 each! We figured with the normal prices of the tickets, and the normal parking
rate - I ended up buying our evening for 80% off the actual price. That's my kind of shopping!
Nick and Ambrosia sat in the other two seats. They were in the 3rd row of the upper bowl - still
fantastic seats. In fact, we've all figured out, we like the higher seats, you can see all the
action better. The one place we haven't been able to try is mid-ice, in the lower bowl. I think
that might be fun because you wouldn't be stuck close to only one goal - and you'd be closer
to the action. Just musing...I'm sure we'll never be able to afford those!
When I realized I'd won both auctions, I quickly called my sister and began begging. She was
sweet enough to agree to come hang out with Avalon and Anam. Avalon asked from the time
her eyes opened this morning, "When's Aunt Nettie coming? Is it time for Nettie yet?" No
question, the little ones are convinced they got the better deal.
While the four of us had a tremendous amount of fun at the game, the Blue Jackets didn't -
they lost. Darn it all! They also lost when we had the glass seats a few days ago... Aurora
has become convinced that I'm a brain-warping-Jinx-a-nator. Sadly...I'm beginning to worry
about it myself. Honestly, I don't think the Jackets have ever won a game I've attended!
Aurora went with Aunt Nettie as a 14th birthday present...they won. She's says if she goes to
another game without me and they win - I'm forbidden from ever attending again. She's got me
so weirded out, I've vowed to not go for the rest of the year. The play-offs are finally in their
reach - and I love these guys too much to take it away from them!
As for the little ones, they had the time of their lives. We came home to tales of a monstrous,
family-room sized fort. Avalon was convinced that Aunt Nettie was brilliant for dreaming up
something so INCREDIBLE. Anam was convinced that it should have been allowed to stay up
forever, and was highly honked it didn't. Aunt Nettie? Well, she was convinced our dog is
retarded. He insisted that all 100 pounds of him had to be fully inside the magnificent Fort
Nettie.
Aunt Nettie had a fair point. The dog is a dork.