My swimming girl

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A GREAT BIG HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY TO SARAH! WOOHOO!

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I HOPE HER DAY HAS BEEN A FAB HAPPY AND HEALTHY ONE!

Dusty. :heart:
 
Miss 18 and one day, is taking herself to the doctors today to get a doctor certificate for school.

She has a cold and is too sick to go to school.

What could possibly go wrong!!

She know to tell them she has crohn's
She know what medication she taking.
She also know her specialist name.

She knows not to get any script filled without calling me first.

:ybatty::ybatty:
 
My darling husband got to take her to the doctors.

This was to the local clinic that i only now use for non serious things because they bulk bill.

Dr asked her how she been as they hadn't seen her 2 years, and did the standard checks for the common cold. Sarah told her has Crohn's and takes imuran.
 
Very nice! You've probably mentioned it somewhere at sometime but what is it that Sarah is studying, is it related to fashion or design or is this course just because of a personal interest?
 
In the word's of Lily from purple purse fame..."Wow! Just about all I can say is wow" That girl is talented!
 
This is a year 12 subject, final year of high school.

The subject is called Product Design and Technology and she is doing the textiles area.

She also doing photography.

She hopes to do textile design at uni. There is only one course in all Australia and they take 40 students. Otherwise she looking at graphic design.
 
She probably is very stressed she's just showing it differently. Procrastination is one of the ways that stress sometimes presents.
 
Alright Maree. She takes after her mother. Textiles room open at school on Monday and Wednesday until 5pm. She tells me this will be enough time to screen print and sew t-shirt.

She will finish sewing the practice for the dress tomorrow. Somewhere in there i need to get her model to try it on and then she the needs to cut, dye the real thing before Wednesday when she will sew it.

She is also reshooting the strawberry and milk photos tomorrow as they need more light.
 
Wow! That is brilliant Catherine...well done Sarah. :dusty: What a talented lass you have and how very proud you must be. :):):)

Hope you don't mind if I add it here cause it is so fab!:
 

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Sarah's sick again. Only symptom is a stomach ache.

Monday morning had panadol and it got much better.

This morning got up a 2 am to take panadol still had a stomach this morning and stay home from school.

Had quick trip to the doctors, who rang the specialist office (GI on holidays) to soon to be sure what it is. Her bloods look good done on Saturday.

Soft food diet for the next 2 days, and back to the doctors on Friday if no better and bloods. We also trying treatment for constipation although she has normal bowel movements.

She says it feels like Crohn's pain.

On a positive note the Screen printing is complete and most of the sewing of the t-shirt, and so is the practice dress with a couple changes to be made so it fits the model better.

The dinning room has so survived strawberries being dropped into milk. The tablecloth was not so lucky. Only a few more milk photos to go, then she moving on to dropping fruit into a fish tank. Not sure the carpet will survive this. Not sure water, food dye or ink, and carpet make a good combination.
 
Hopefully when the stress of this set of projects is over her stomach will settle down too. I'm sure the strain must be contributing.

Hang in there. I'd suggest, getting a large tarpaulin and covering the whole floor, then setting up the fish tank in the middle of it, it's not worth taking any risks with food dye and carpet.
 
I hope it is just the anxiety over completing the projects! :ghug: Glad to hear they're almost done.

I'm with Maree... get everything covered! :eek: Ya gotta love these projects! ;)
 
Had her back at the doctor's today, she was noticeably less tender than Wednesday, her pain level is also lower. Imflammatory markers are normal.

Dr wants her to continue pandol for pain. As soon as the pain is manageable she takes nothing.

Ferritin level is 30 so doesnot need iron? No sue about this one.

I ready what our GI back!
 
I so hope all this is in line with her HSC schedule Catherine and once it is over all goes back to normal. Fingers, toes and everything else crossed! :ghug:

Dusty. xxx
 
T-shirt complete.

Screen printed project.
 

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A quick update on Sarah.

Sarah has decide to stop swimming, today would have been her last day. Only she has been away from school for the last 3 days and now has bronchitis. She says she is better has not coughed all day but she only coughing at night.

School broke up today for the 3rd term holidays. These are holidays are not holidays when your in year 12. The first week she spending do a folio preparation course at RMIT, least hour each way by train and study for exam The second week she has five practice exams at school and need to complete her textiles folio.
 
Thanks for the update Catherine. :)

Do you mean stopping altogether or is the season over?

I can well imagine what these holidays will be like, bless her...:heart:

Oh my, I hope the bronchitis soon settles and doesn't knock her about too much in the interim! :ghug:

Dusty. xxx
 
She has decide to stop swimming all together. She says she not enjoying it anymore. Her coach told she just wasn't willing to work hard enough to get her times back. The only times she has done pb has been while she has been on pred.

She looks well but !!!!

I don't think is as well as she would like us to believe.

She has decided she does not have to take our advice. She has a party tomorrow night with a sleep over and this stage she is planning to go even although she hasn't been school in 3 days and is taking more medication for the bronchitis.

Life with an adult child.
 
I know that feeling! It is so hard when they get older and you start to lose control over their lives.

Hope she is better and doesn't make things worse, but sometimes they have to learn by their own mistakes :eek2:

There's always a plus side when they give up their activities, you'll find out you have SOOOOOO much more time and wonder how on earth you managed to fit in all the training, competitions etc!

xx
 
I hope she begins to feel better soon. Too bad the 'holidays' don't sound like they'll give her much time to rest. :(

I think lots of kids, at this age, start to prioritize and find their sports have moved down a couple of notches. There's so much going on in their lives, the expectations from coaches start to seem excessive given all the other demands on their time. :)

And, yes, with you on them not listening to us... As hard as it is for us to watch, sometimes they do just have to make the mistakes and learn from them. :facepalm: I swear it's got to be one of the toughest things to accept, when we've been protecting them their whole lives! I try to convince myself that what they'll learn from this 'one' mistake, will save them from making a bigger mistake later. (this is my bubble... :lol:)
 
So sorry to hear about the bronchitis. We are in the same boat with the independence. C already has his weekend planned out even thought it seems as if he may be in a flare. I'm going with live and learn approach but goodness it is hard!

Wow her holiday doesn't seem to be a holiday at all, goodness!! Hope she is well soon. My older non-IBDer got to the age where our softball world ended. It had been our whole life for 7 years and she decided to walk away. I thought how will we cope not being involved with that world. It was so much easier than I thought, no death heat days spent at the field all day and half the night, living off concession stand food or spending most weekends in hotels of towns we never really saw past their softball park!!

Hope she does well in all that lies ahead of her and things are under control quickly with her health!
 
Yes, exactly what you said, Clash, re the hotels, concession stands, the vague memories of town names that I think I visited (but only saw arenas or soccer fields)! :lol: After so many years, I did think I would feel the loss more than I actually have - miss the games but don't miss the practices, the rushing around, the politics, the anxieties, etc.! :D
 
Ugh, hell Catherine. Excuse the language but the coach sounds like a total arsehole. :( Would she have been able to maintain her swimming when she finished school and moved on to uni?

I so know the rise of independence in a Year 12 Crohn's student. It was my Sarah's Annus Horribilus, she probably didn't think it was but I did! All turned out well in the end though and from the sound of your Sarah, I have always had the impression she is a very sensible lass, this stretching of the wings will be just that and all will fall into place at the right time. Good luck mum. :ghug:

Thinking of you! :heart:
Dusty. xxx
 
Swimming doesn't end for us, we still have youngest swimming 5 mornings a week.

The coach is actually right Sarah is unwilling to put in to amount of training required to get her times back which would be 10 x 2 hours sessions per week. Whether her health will ever be good enough to allow this is another thing.

If she get into her first choice uni, her travel time will be 2 and half each day. This is only if we drive her to station otherwise the travel time will increase to about 4 hours per day.

She would also like to get a job. Her allowance does not meet her needs.

So no she won't have time for swimming when the uni year starts.
 
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Well at least she was smart enough to walk away. My oldest (non IBDer) knew she wouldn't be swimming in college but still had us pay the fees thinking she would at least continue to train for fun. That was a laugh.

But totally different when it is their bodies not allowing them to push the way they used to. Prednisone times? We are still trying to match those prednisone/blood doping times O got right after she got out of the hospital and had received mega doses of Prednisone and three blood transfusions....Her coach keeps asking if we could just put her back on the roids....sure if you want to take away her NCAA eligibility!
 
Sarah stay at her friend last night and is so much better. Her bronchitis must have been bacterial as she has improved so much since starting the medicine for it.
 
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My Sarah is tired but she had a great week at the folio course, today the last day.

Final exams are in 4 weeks, and she added a boy to the mix of everything else that going on in her life right now.

To quote Dusty, onwards and upwards.
 
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Sarah's GI is back from holiday today, gosh I missed her.

All Sarah's blood test look good, and we are getting copies in the mail. And a form to check aza levels.

She also is completing Sarah's supporting letter for her SEAS application and posting that too.

Now the really good news is Sarah's calprotection level is 193.
 
Sarah has very mild anaemia.

Her haemoglobin is 11.3. White cell count is 3.7. Lymphocytes are 0.7

On the blood test leading up to this one. The comment has been essentially within normal limits

This time the comment changed to: The total leukocyte count is at the lower limit of normal. There is a mild anaemia

She has been very good taking her aza but not so good with taking the vitamins at night.

Six more days of high school then a week study break. VCE English is on 30 October.
 
Sarah finishes high school today. Her outfit was finished at 8.08am this morning and left for school at 8.10am, she knows how to cut it fine.

Text from GI says regarding AZA levels, interesting but now in therapeutic range and non toxic range, so right where they should be.
 
Received results in mail today.

6-TGN 291 (235-450 pmol/8x108 RBC)
6-MMP 1269 <5,700 pmol/ 8x108 RBC)
6-MMP/6-TGN 4 (11-20)

B12 has dropped from a high of 638 to 366 pmol/L
Folate is 1080 which I feel is better than over 2000.
 
Sarah asked me the morning whether I think she is losing weigh. One of her friends mentioned that she thinks has loss weight. Her weight is currently 58kg. She stopped swimming 6 week ago. There is no difference on the scales since then but she has lost 4kg in the last 6 months.
 
Sarah completed her exams, last Monday. Has started univ/college interviews. She has been told by one TAFE college they will accept her.

She is off to schoolie!! on Saturday.

And the boyfriend in moving in with him sister, about 10 min down the road.

Tonight is Graduation.
 
Sarah and her friends have gone to Rosebud which is about one hour doen the road. It a seaside town.
 
Vce results come out Monday. Her results were good but all subject scores were scaled down.

The best news is she received a letter from her first choice univ course saying that she would received an offer if she preference them first.

The official offers come out on the 16th January.
 
Wow, congrats Sarah!! She must be so happy knowing she'll 'good to go' with her first choice! :dusty:
 
Sarah looks good.

She is sleeping a lot and not eating regularly. Is this a normal teenager thing?
She mentioned in pasting that she is now 55kgs.:ybatty::ybatty:

She has another two months holiday.

Her hemoglobin is 12.3 g/dL (11.5-16.5) which is high for her.

PCV is 35.7% (37.0 - 47.0)

They even feel the need to comment that result were "essentially within normal limits"
 
I think the holidays can really throw things off... but, hopefully, not seriously off. Since Stephen's been home, he's been sleeping lots and his appetite goes up and down... made Christmas breakfast (his favourite meal, favourite foods) - he ate a bit but said he wasn't hungry, a bit later, said he wasn't feeling well but not cold/flu type 'not well', then throws in 'I have a canker sore too' :eek: Then, we go out for our family Christmas dinner, he eats three servings and says he feels completely fine. :yfaint: And, this has happened a couple of times over the holidays??? But, for the most part, he looks good (I've had him under eagle eye! :lol:) and seems to be acting 'normal'. :) So, I'm leaning towards just busy schedules, heavier foods than usual, etc....

Sarah just finished her exams and assignments... could it just be that she's gone from that stress straight to all the holiday activities and she's just in 'recovery mode'?
 
It is probably a holiday thing but she has managed to lose in lose 3kg since giving up swimming (in 3 months).

Some would be muscle loss but 3kg seems like a lot for muscle loss.

She does have a summer cold.

She is now 5kgs under what her GI thinks would be her idea weight.
 
I forget... does she drink any nutrition shakes? Stephen still drinks one or two every day (even since he's been home, he came to ask me where I had them and put a few in the fridge himself... so, I'm thinking he doesn't just tell me he's drinking them ;))

Would she consider drinking one or two a day to get some extra calories in her every day? If she drinks smoothies, Boost even has some recipes on their website that use the Boost shakes in smoothies.
 
What can I say teenager girls and weight. She need to eat three meals a day.:ybatty::ybatty:

She drank the drinks prior to dx and just after dx and hasn't touch them since. They made her feel very sick.
.
She having folate, b12, iron and d done with her next bloods.
 
Hugs!!! yes, I know teenage girls and diets! :yfaint:

I hope all labs come back fine!
 
Skipping meals sounds like a teenage thing to me! I guess it is something to keep an eye on.

Good luck with labs xx
 
She is also decide to stop taking asthma preventer. She says she is find pie but her coughing wakes me in the middle of the night.:ybatty::ybatty:

She believe she doesn't need the medicine as her asthma is mild.
 
Catherine
I will get some papers for her.
The death rate is even higher for mild asthmatics since they tend to be more lax about their asthma .

Wow

So not looking forward to teenage years
 
Ditto ^^^^^

Grace has illness /cold/exercise induced asthma. Before daily meds she always went near pneumonia every time she got sick. Now she doesn't and recovers quicker.

Still teenagers have to learn the hard way some times.
 
Thanks mlp

She was first dx with asthma as 8 year old. Her presentation was very similar to my sister is both case parents were told they had a nervous cough. In Sarah's case the cough cleared up in 3 days of trailing reliever meds.

My sister was dx with asthma in her mid 30's. She was told by her specialist that she was the most severe asthmatic he had ever since who had never had an asthma attack.
 
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Sarah tells me she back on her asthma medication because I told her to take it:eek2::eek2:

She has accepted a place at RMIT to study textile design. :ghug::ghug:

Her overall health seem good.

Onwards and upwards.

It will be two years since dx tomorrow.
 
Well done Mum and well done Sarah! :congratualtions:

I shan’t say happy anniversary though! :eek2: But rather may the months and years that follow that anniversary only get better and better! Good luck!

Dusty. xxx
 
Haha "because I told her to take it" Congrats on your daughter realizing that you actually know what you are talking about!

Congrats to Sarah for the Textile Design spot...it is obvious to the committee she has a talent...so glad the school realized it as well!

We also just passed a two year anniversary. Eerie eh? Didn't realize we were so close in our paths.
 
Where's she working?

It's good when they get their own money, they actually think twice before they buy something....well my daughter does.
 
KFC, they started hiring univ students as all the high school students are going back to school this week.
 
Sarah is now a qualified swimming teacher. Just has to get level 2 first aid, then she can start job number 2.:eek2::eek2:
 
crohnsinct said:
Wow! Like I said a go getter! I hope she doesn't get to busy to remember to eat!
Click to expand...

Don't think that's will be a problem.

Job no 1 has roster her on for 3 hours per week at the moment.

Job no 2 will give her one permanent 5hr shift, hopefully 5hrs in the water will make her hungry.

Univ is 16 contact hour per week and that doesn't start until 3rd March.
 
Thanks everyone. Sarah is completing her first aid on Sunday and as of today she now has 3 shifts next week for job number two.

This should make her feel hungry. If 12 hour in water doesn't make her hungry nothing will.
 
Sarah is eating more after swimming teacher job.

Boyfriend has comment on weight loss I think he is concerned. He has Celiac disease with all the issues it brings.

Sarah applied for youth allowance and is receiving enough to buy a sandwich a fortnight. But she got a health care card:eek2::eek2: This was a surprise in the mail.
 

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