Still Alive & Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival

Yes folks, we are still alive in our neck of the woods. Sorry it has been so long since I have posted. It has been a busy time to say the least.





Some of you know that James has been sick off and on since Christmas. He just never seemed to get better after each bout with a virus/cold. We seemed to be going to the Dr. every time I turned around. They did blood work that came back perfectly fine, then there were stool testing and that came back fine too.

Finally the Dr. said that it was beyond what he could do and told us to head to Children's Hospital and he would call ahead so that all the sign in paperwork would be done for us. We arrived around 6 that evening in the ER.

After going through Dr. after Dr. they couldn't diagnose him and said that they would like to admit him and wanted to know if that was ok. Ummm yeah it is ok. I wanted my baby well. I know what they were driving at. They thought that we were starving him. He was so skinny. You could see his ribs, hip bones, spinal column, etc. Everything that he was eating should have made him as big as a barn (chicken nuggets, french fries, mac n cheese, etc.)

We finally got a room at 1 am and settled in and got James to sleep around 2. The team of Dr.s assigned to him were in bright and early that morning to see him. More blood work and tests all came back normal. They called in the Gastro. Dr. (told that he is the best you can get) and he said that he thought he had _____ the first time that he looked at him. We all thought that he was crazy even the normal rotation Dr.'s didn't think that was it.



So there was more blood work to be done. We had to wait for that to come back to get a diagnosis. Also there was a biopsy test to be done later in the week.





All in all we ended up spending a week in the hospital. I can safely say that if I ever had to take James to a hospital again it would be Children's. They were so great to him and us. I was very happy about the care that we all received.

After the blood work came back and he had his biopsy (that was so hard to watch them put him under) the Gastro Dr. was right. He now has a diagnosis of Celiac Disease.

Celiac Disease is an allergy to gluten (wheat and derivatives). It is amazing all the things that gluten is in. Not only is it in food, but it is also in cleaning supplies, make-up, sun screen, tooth paste, soaps, ect. We have had to clean the house out and start over. It hasn't been easy that is for sure. When you are used to paying .99 for a bag of pretzels and now they are $8.00 for an even smaller bag it puts a real strain on the wallet. We have found a few ways to save money, but it is still much more expensive than the "normal" food. We have all gone gluten free since cross contamination is a big concern. It is so easy to accidental put a spoon too close to another one and contaminate his food. Since we have been eating this way I have been feeling better too, so I have been told that I should be tested as well.

Here are a few pictures just a few weeks after he was out of the hospital. Before he would have never stood by himself (we had to carry him every where) or smiled (he was so sad and pathetic).

Don't worry the portable potty seat is clean. LOL


Jame and Kevin fishing at the Grandparents'


It is so good to see him feeling better, but man does he have the energy. He will go non-stop all day without a nap and still be going strong at 1 am. He exhausts me. LOL He is getting better every day. I am excited to see what the Dr.s think at his next check up. He looks like he has gained weight. You can't see the bones like when he was in the hospital and his cheeks have filled out. I just hope that he continues to progress.

In my "spare" time I have been dyeing yarn and rovings and getting things together to head to the Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Festival. With the events that I just listed, I have been behind several weeks according to my original plan. It doesn't look like I am going to get done everything that I had wanted to, but I am not stopping until I have to.

I have been told that there are aprox. 80 vendors this year! I had a great time last year. There is supposed to be a Ravelry meet up as well and they have buttons at the welcome booth that you can buy so people know who you are on Ravelry. I know from last year that there are lots of pretty things that just have to come home with you. :)

The things that I will have include hand dyed yarns and rovings (some yarns in self striping and some in variegated), wool wash and scour, paper quilled sheep, and a few other things that you will have to come to see. I will be in McGill Hall, the one with the white lattice work booth (hopefully that is - if Kevin can get it finished to his liking before Friday). I am hoping to get a few pictures of some of the things that I will have. With today's thunderstorms they might not be the best. :(

If you are planning on coming and would like to sit and spin, knit, talk or what ever let me know so that I can bring a few extra chairs. I hope to see you there.

The dates and times are .... Friday June 6 12 - 7 and Saturday June 7 10 - 6. I have been told to use Google map because Mapquest has them in the wrong location.

So tell me what you all have been up to. Unfortunately I haven't had time or been able to keep up with blogs. I have been thinking of you all. I hope after Hoosier Hills things will get back to "normal" and I will be able to get back to my normal blog reading and posting. So please let me know what you have been up to and how you have been doing.

Hope to see you this weekend.