First Draft Complete, Untitled Manuscript

May 19, 2016 By in Book Announcements Tags: , , , , 2 Comments

Those who follow my social media accounts already know I’m working on a second book. I completed the first draft this past Monday, May 16th. It came to 8,743 words. I find this rather impressive considering it’s only the core of the story. There are currently no sub-plots. There are only a handful of named characters. That’s a lot of words for such a straight forward dialog.

I need to let it sit for a week before I go back and look through it. I’m sure I’m missing at least an important sub-plot if not core pieces of the main plot. Regardless, here’s what I can tell you about the book so far.

  • It’s an emotional read, at least for me.
  • It’s fiction.
  • There are going to be times where, due to the main character’s level of stress, events may be unclear to the reader. I would like some input on whether or not readers might find that more annoying than helpful as a literary tool.
  • The editing process of this book is going to be just as painful, if not more so, than the last book. Have I mentioned I don’t like editing?

As I mentioned in the post title the manuscript has no name. Without a name, I don’t have any clue what the cover art might look like. It simply felt appropriate at this point to share that the book exists and appears to be a project which will live past its infancy to see publication. I would love to hear any comments or input you might have below!

The Anchor

May 16, 2016 By in Observations Tags: , Leave a comment

Someone has to keep it together when everyone else is falling apart. Usually, it’s me. The world around me dissolves into a panic and I do my best to ignore the whole production. I don’t ignore the problem. That I’ll be attempting to resolve while everyone else is still in shock it even happened.

When others around me realize I’m not in a panic something magical happens. They compose themselves almost immediately. First, they have to stop panicking enough to look around and realize what other people are doing. It does, however, pull everyone back into a state of calm much sooner than they would find it themselves.

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Teaching Our Son’s Immune System

May 13, 2016 By in Our Family's Journey Tags: , , , 3 Comments

We spent almost two years keeping our son away from anyone who was contagious and many people who might be. It was for good reason. His weight was precarious and when he got sick he got REALLY sick. A normal illness would take twice as long for him to recover from as it should. Meanwhile, he would vomit more food just as he really needed the extra calories.

When we first heard we could get him out more and worry much less about illness we were really excited. He could go to play groups. He’d be able to play with other kids his age at church. It sounded like it opened so many doors! In reality, it’s been a bit of a nightmare. He still takes a long time to recover from many illnesses. If we catch something at the same time he’ll be struggling with it days after I’m better and it will eventually settle into his ears, nose, and throat.

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Back on the Curve

May 10, 2016 By in Noonan Syndrome-Like Disorder, Our Family's Journey, Uncategorized Tags: , , Leave a comment

Our son had fallen off of his growth curve about six months ago. Since he was getting close to two years old, he was tested for milk allergy. When his results came back they indicated he was likely no longer allergic to milk. In light of this new information, his GI (gastroenterologist) recommended we switch him to Pediasure Peptide 1.5.

At our last follow up our son regained his place on his growth curve. Now that he’s back to doing well we’re starting the tube weaning process. Due to Noonan’s Syndrome, we don’t expect it to be fast or easy. Truly we’ve been working on tube weaning all along. Our efforts have just been focused more on preventing bad things, like oral aversion, over forcing progress. We now believe all medical issues have been resolved to the point we can begin forcing progress without causing harm.

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Mother’s Day

April 30, 2016 By in Mother's Day Tags: , , , , , 4 Comments
Mother’s Day

Mother’s Day is coming up. The normal hustle and bustle already started. Everyone’s clamoring to find the best gift. What the Mom in your life really needs isn’t more things (unless she’s asked for them of course, then please buy them for her)! She’ll appreciate the thought of these so much more.

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Advantages of using an HSA or FSA

April 24, 2016 By in Money Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Advantages of using an HSA or FSA

In order to deduct medical expenses off of your taxes, they need to reach 10% of your adjusted gross income per the IRS rules. Did you know there’s a way to reduce your tax burden on medical expenses even if you’re under that 10% threshold? You can do it by using an HSA, FSA, or other tax-favored plans. There’s a lot of legal jargon in the references. The main gist is if your employer offers one of these options it would be a good idea to take advantage. Just make sure to read and understand whatever paperwork they give you to describe the plan and its features.

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Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle

April 9, 2016 By in Caregiver Tips & Tricks, Vehicle Tips & Tricks Tags: , , , , Leave a comment
Cleaning the Inside of Your Vehicle

It’s pretty common to see parents of kids who vomit frequently in the car armed with a bottle or canister of scent removal spray. After all, we spend so much time cleaning everything else it’s sometimes tough to justify spending a whole lot of time cleaning one of the places we spend the least amount of time. You spray the right product and the smell goes away. Everyone’s happy!

Every once in a while, it’s good to get in there and really clean up all of the things that didn’t quite get clean when you wiped them down with a rag right after the vomit episode. There are also ways to protect your vehicle and make it so most of the mess can be drug out of the car and banished with a hose. Let’s talk about those first because, frankly, preventing a tough mess in the first place is really the only way things are going to stay somewhat clean.

  1. Auto Seat Protector – This handy device will sit under the car seat and make sure any vomit which overflows from the car seat’s undercarriage won’t lie around and keep the seat underneath wet. Yes, some of them will claim to completely protect your car’s interior. For most children this is probably true. Our son overflows ours from time to time.
  2. Rubber Floor Mats – These are a must have for many, many situations. We have the heavy-duty grooved rubber mats which cover a wider area than your traditional cloth mats. We use them to pile soiled clothes, diapers, and rags until we can get home. This keeps the soiled cloth from seeping out into the vehicle’s upholstery.
  3. Car Seat with a Machine Washable Liner – Not all car seats have this feature. I consider it a must have since children make messes regardless of whether or not there are medical reasons involved. Our He machine does an excellent job of scrubbing our seat’s liner as long as it’s pressed down into the bottom so the water will cover it. You’ll need to wash after you’re in for the day. I’ve yet to find a car seat liner which permits machine drying.

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Check Out My Book, Becoming a Medical Mom!

April 2, 2016 By in Book Announcements Tags: , , , , , , , , 6 Comments
Check Out My Book, Becoming a Medical Mom!

Did you know I wrote a book? It’s a comprehensive guide to coordinating and managing your child’s medical care.

It received a 4 out of 4 rating from OnlineBookClub.org’s Official Review. Here are two highlights from the review:

“Ashley gives the good and bad of most situations in dealing with the basic parts of having a child with medical issues. She is not partial on subjects and doesn’t glorify doctors or disdain them. She tells what you will expect, terms and titles you should understand, and the basics of traversing the initial medical protocol.”

“I think this book is a great read for anyone that is or will be a parent, because everyone, and not just definitive situations with medical issues, should know what all goes into being a parent with a medical situation and what to expect.”

According to customer testimonials…

“I’ve been living the Medical Mom life for nearly 12 years. This book is VERY well written and covers what I wish someone had told me all those years ago…”

“It’s written in a way that moms can understand and clearly explains medical jargon that medical moms might come across.”

You can see the full reviews on the book’s Amazon.com page.

You can preview the book for free on Amazon.com as well. If you’re still on the fence here is the book’s description. Feel free to ask any questions you have in the comments and I’ll respond within 24 hours!

Becoming a Medical Mom

A “Medical Mom” is a mother of a child with medical difficulties. Typically these mothers have been through one or more hospital admissions. Their child may or may not have a diagnosis. At first, they’re frazzled and unsure but, over time, they become staunch advocators for their children and their medical needs. My goal is to reach the frazzled and unsure beginners and expedite their development into the advocates their children need them to be. Everyone has to start somewhere. The journey to becoming a fully-fledged medical mama is no exception. Whether you have some medical knowledge already, or don’t have a clue what any of the words the doctor is using mean, you’re in the right place. I’m going to make sure you know the basics. By the time you’re through, you’ll know how to survive admission, whether it’s a day or a month.

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Car Rides with Vomiters

March 27, 2016 By in Caregiver Tips & Tricks Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment
Car Rides with Vomiters

There are a lot of kids who vomit in the car and it’s mostly an annoyance. For our son with Noonan’s Syndrome every bit of food counts. He has difficulty gaining weight under normal circumstances and getting car sick makes it that much worse. If you find yourself thinking, “It’s not that big of a deal,” please remember it is a big deal for our son.

One of the first things we were told to do with our son to soothe him was to toss him in a car seat and drive him around. Our first pediatrician even recommended sleeping in a car seat as a way to lessen the discomfort of his reflux. We did try these things before writing them off but they weren’t helpful for us. The angle of the car seat seemed to guarantee our son would puke all over himself, in the car or out of it.

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Prior Authorization for Medications

March 21, 2016 By in Caregiver Tips & Tricks Tags: , , , , 10 Comments
Prior Authorization for Medications

If you’ve dealt with getting a prescription filled at a pharmacy you may have come across this term at some point. When something requires prior authorization it means the insurance company must approve coverage for it before it can be purchased. Many children with feeding tubes run into this for acid reflux medications but there are other types of medications which also have these sorts of restrictions.

The mechanics for prior authorization can be extremely confusing because policies between insurance companies differ significantly. One company may approve a brand without any objection while it might be nearly impossible to get approval for anything else. If you switched insurance companies you might well find that one brand which was preferred before is almost impossible to get approval for once companies change.

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