Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Check Out This Red...Thing....

I wish I was more of a knowledgeable flower person...I have no idea what this is but Karl found a bunch of them growing at the edge of the woods, on some side, dirt road yesterday a few blocks from us.
He came home and said the three most romantic words on earth...

"Get the camera"

SIGH.....

Then he said "I found this thing that is so cool, you have to see it"

So.....we went and cool it sure was. What it is, welp, that still remains a mystery to us.



Kolin calls it the "Crab Leg Plant" because he swears it looks like king crab legs..he does have a good point, and a good imagination.



See those pointy things? They are razor sharp..trust me, we know all about that now. :0/





I wish I had gotten a more in focus shot of this close up...this one is just super cropped out of one of the above pic's.
Note to self...go back there today and try again.
Note to Karl...just another reason why macro lenses are a life necessity. ;0)



Whatever it is, in the 10 years we've lived here..I've never seen such a thing before.
Then again..I don't get out much, seriously. :0(

Yesterday was a pretty OK kind of day.
Today is fixin' to be better....I hope.

Kody went off to school this morning, but still had a headache. Not as bad as yesterday but he did tell me when he woke up, his head wasn't on his three pillows. The thing with Kody is..he has got to have his head propped up to sleep or it's a guarantee that he will be miserable the next morning because of the CSF {cerebral spinal fluid} which drains perfectly fine when his head is propped up because of his shunt..but doesn't do as well when his head is flat {think gravity}.

I got the written reports back from the neuroradiologist yesterday and indeed there is still a 14mm x 14mm mass on his brainstem.
In addition to that, the lumbar spine results, which kind of confused me until I talked to a friends Grammpa on the phone last night who knows a thing or two about the spine.

This is exactly what the end of the report said {the rest would take me all morning to type up and I'm not fixin' to do that..LOL!!}..

"IMPRESSION:
Mild degenerative disc disease noted at the L4-L5 level with disc desiccation and mild circumferential disc bulge. There is a mild bilateral inferior neutral foraminal encroachment noted without disc protrusion or central canal stenosis."

So..from what I think I understand is that he has something going on in his lower back that should be painful, but he has never complained about any pain there.
Which leaves me baffled once again...which is so easy to do anyway.
I'm sure the new doc's out there in Orlando will tell us more.

I was recently asked how Kody is about learning that his tumor is still there.
I have to honestly say that we haven't told him, or Kolin either.
He also doesn't know about the spine thing.
In our opinion....
We thought about all the major accomplishments he's made after finding out the tumor was gone.
Becoming a black belt this past January made his whole life journey soar.
He became happier, healthier and definitely the most popular kid in middle school.
He made student of the year {REACH Award} in the 6th grade.
Other then his occasional headaches, he never, ever complains.
For Kody...life is good and until the day comes when we absolutely have to tell him, we going to continue to let him believe that he can accomplish anything he puts his mind too.
There is no reason that we can think of that's good enough to break that boys spirit. :0)

Welp my friends..I really have to jump off for now. So many things to do before the hellians get home.
It's Wednesday and in Florida schools....kids get out early on Wednesdays.

Have a beautiful day everyone!!

Love, Kim

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I sure am glad I didn't take up the medical world. It's sorta like legal mumbo jumbo (which I did work in!!). :) Since I'm not a cm/mm kind of girl...is that 14x14 mm area about the same size as it used to be, or hopefully smaller?

I sure don't blame you for not telling Kody yet. You'll know when/if the time is necessary.

So...why IS it that FL schools get out early on Wednesdays?

Kim, you'll like this one. My work starts at 9:30. Thirty minutes before that the hubby calls home and says he just realized that he never picked up the branches that fell into our neighbor's yard when he was cutting down a tree on MONDAY. Yep...two days later and, nicely enough by them, they haven't called to complain. So, I feel it is MY duty to go and toss those branches over the fence into our yard...

...TWENTY minutes later and my back is sore but their yard looks great! URGH!!! {Oh, and for the record...some were more like trunks! And...when I called to tell him he owed me one, he said he wished he'd never told me...!}

HOPE YOUR DAY IS GREAT and Kody makes it through his morning!!!

Love,
Shiela

Anonymous said...

Kim,

I had the same thing with my L4/L5 last year. It is not the end of the world!!!! I ended up having a discectomy and am doing great! The surgery takes about an hour, you have to be pretty careful for a few weeks and with physical therapy, I am fabulous 16 months after the fact! Other people have just done PT and it has been great for them so don't think the back part is awful!!! He will be fine with the right help, which is sounds like you are getting!

Hope you guys have an awesome day and thanks for keeping us up on your life.

Sara in Atlanta

URBAN BLONDE said...

Kim,

If you have strong abdominal muscles it often compensates for lower back problems. And since Kody is in such tip top shape from his martial arts training it's likely that is why he's never complained of pain.

On another note I feel I have to say what I have been thinking for such a long time!

I love how you look at the world with your artist eyes. How you see beauty in the mosaic of a tabletop, a wonderful old chair, a dilapidated wood wall, a unique bug or flower, your children and grandchildren's faces.

Even in adversity you bring sunshine not only into your families lives but into those of us who read your blog. We laugh with you, we cry with you, we hope so much for everything good to happen to your family.

And no I have no idea what that amazingly exotic danger flower is! But I absolutely love the pics!

Have a beautiful day Kim! Hope Kody feels great today too!

Blondie

Anonymous said...

I have followed Kody's site for a long time, but don't post often.

I just had to laugh at the name he thought of for the flower, before I saw that, I was thinking exactly the same thing!

Hope that the back issues are not a big deal. My daughter has gone through a lot with her back issues - going from being an athletic soccer player, to now needing a walker for long distances. I
If Kody does have problems (hopefully not!), and you are not comfortable with what the Orlando docs say, I highly recommend Dr. Lenke in St. Louis. (Talk about a long, run-on sentence!) He did Alex's last surgery, and is great.
I always enjoy all of the great pictures you have!
Pam Porter
r.porter@mindspring.com
www.caringbridge.org/visit/alexporter

Anonymous said...

Kim, normally I'm a 100% advocate for keeping your children informed to the best of their comprehension level about their own bodies, so that they can take charge.

That said, even coming from that opinion, I completely agree with your decision not to talk to the boys, I understand why you made it, and I can't wait to see what more your children can accomplish - even without knowing just how many obstacles they are overcoming!

You know, they say that bees shouldn't be able to fly, but no one ever tells the bees that either.

Anonymous said...

The plant may be a member of the Bromilliad Family (not sure I spelled it correctly)...take your photo to a nursery or flower shop...they may be able to tell you...

Prayers for Kody to be healed.

Love all your photos..

Thanks for sharing your lives with all of us...

Fran

Anonymous said...

Hope that Kody continues to do well. As for that mystery plant, don't know what it is either, but we have them growing around our neighborhood as well, I've always wondered what they were. I'm in Sebring, probably 3 hours or so south of you.

Melissa

Anonymous said...

Hi Kim,

Now I am pretty sure the plant is among the bromelaid family...

Check out the website:

www.fcbs.com (Florida Council of Bromelaid Society)for photos..

While I found some varieties that look somewhat like the one you photographed, I did not find the exact one. You may want to report your findings to this group and they may become excited to find a "new" Bromelaid.

Have a great day and keep up the good work of being one great mom and taking great photos...

Fran

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