Well here it is. The time has come. It is camp time yet again. This means that it is officially summer now (with the one high school class completely finished). And this means that in less that 8 hours I'm on the road to camp. Which I will be at this entire summer working and working and goofing off and having a swell ol' time... hopefully!
Now for anyone who hasn't ever gone to a camp, you are definitely missing out. There is something about camps that are just amazing and create memories that last forever (well at least for many years). Songs, games, craziness. Three amazing things. And then the last-> Friends. I have meet so many people at this camp and it is amazing how close I was with them and how close I still am with some of them.
Well. Short entry because I need to finish packing and I need to sleep sometime as well.
So I will try to come on here to write some posts... I still need to write the post on military affecting young people now... because reality is sometimes very sad and very real... which is completely different than the camp life because it is in no way afflicted with reality.
..CD..
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
A Little Autism 101
Well I said I would give you a little autism 101 as well. I dont think this one will be as long as the Arthritis 101 entry, but it bit just be if I randomly go off. :)
Autism is a very serious and complicated developmental disorder that effects the brain of a person diognosed with autism. People with autism have different symptoms and disablities. Some things that many people with autism suffer with are: socail skills, communication (verbal or non-verbal), delayed motor skills, etc. There is one reason why autism exists (same with some forms of arthritis) though doctors have agreed that differences in the brain have caused autism.
My brother was born prematurely (as I was) and he was only 2 pounds and some onzes (I was 5 lbs something). He also had to have surgery when he was an infant, something in his body was not attached to something it was supposed to be attached to, I'm not entirely sure what though... something in his chest/stomach because he has a very large scar down the middle of his front side. Anyway. Because of this it is likely that brain damage, etc was caused by his complications in birth and after birth. Along with Autism he has other developmental disorders and delays. But on a range of mild to severe, he definitely is more towards mild.
Autism is a very serious and complicated developmental disorder that effects the brain of a person diognosed with autism. People with autism have different symptoms and disablities. Some things that many people with autism suffer with are: socail skills, communication (verbal or non-verbal), delayed motor skills, etc. There is one reason why autism exists (same with some forms of arthritis) though doctors have agreed that differences in the brain have caused autism.
My brother was born prematurely (as I was) and he was only 2 pounds and some onzes (I was 5 lbs something). He also had to have surgery when he was an infant, something in his body was not attached to something it was supposed to be attached to, I'm not entirely sure what though... something in his chest/stomach because he has a very large scar down the middle of his front side. Anyway. Because of this it is likely that brain damage, etc was caused by his complications in birth and after birth. Along with Autism he has other developmental disorders and delays. But on a range of mild to severe, he definitely is more towards mild.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The Graduate
Well I know its a new blog. And with anything new it is hard to start up and keep with it. So I believe that will explain the lack of posts. Also as I have been very busy with life and friends and scrapbooking for my brother. Yup. Its been busy. Last time I updated I had planned to write and Autism 101 the next day. I will do that in the near future, but not today. Then that next day I learned that three of my friends joined up with the marines, which I thought I could write about instead. So I will need to write about that too. But then I just kept forgetting to get on and write.
Anyway. I wanted to share a little about my brother's graduation party since I mentioned that in the first entry. Well it was a small party with almost all of the relatives (except one) and some of my brother's friends and some of my parents friends and some neighbors and his bus driver and then one of my friends. So I guess there was a number of people who came. There was a lot of food: we had lots of veggies, fruit, cake, and then also a very good turkey sandwhich type thing. I will have to get the recipe and post it on here as I have seen some people do on other blogs. As always, my brother had a hard time greeting everyone as he was mostly just sitting and talking with friends. So my parents had to frequently tell him to go greet so and so. It was a nice day out though, so that was good. And he got a lot of cards and even better- money. Though by now he's already spent quite a bit of it. My parents are trying to stop this and have him save it and spend it on something he really would like instead of small things here and there.
Anyway. This is a smaller update and I'm quite tired still. I've had a lack of sleep ever since the midnight showing of Pirates 3 last Thursday-Friday. It was an amazing movie and everyone should see it and make sure to stay till after the credits.
Anyway. I wanted to share a little about my brother's graduation party since I mentioned that in the first entry. Well it was a small party with almost all of the relatives (except one) and some of my brother's friends and some of my parents friends and some neighbors and his bus driver and then one of my friends. So I guess there was a number of people who came. There was a lot of food: we had lots of veggies, fruit, cake, and then also a very good turkey sandwhich type thing. I will have to get the recipe and post it on here as I have seen some people do on other blogs. As always, my brother had a hard time greeting everyone as he was mostly just sitting and talking with friends. So my parents had to frequently tell him to go greet so and so. It was a nice day out though, so that was good. And he got a lot of cards and even better- money. Though by now he's already spent quite a bit of it. My parents are trying to stop this and have him save it and spend it on something he really would like instead of small things here and there.
Anyway. This is a smaller update and I'm quite tired still. I've had a lack of sleep ever since the midnight showing of Pirates 3 last Thursday-Friday. It was an amazing movie and everyone should see it and make sure to stay till after the credits.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
A Little Arthritis 101
Now few people believe that children can get arthritis. And I think that is the first thing I want to correct any reader of this blog on. Children do indeed get arthritis, in fact, its not even that rare. About 300,000 children in the United States have some form of juvenile arthritis. This can be JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis), SLE (Juvenile Systemic Lupus Erythematosus), JSp (Juvenile Spondyloarthopathy), and more. JRA is the most common type of arthritis in children and I am one of those children affected. My start with JRA started when I was only 2.5 and my parents noted me complaining consistantly of knee pain. It was a long journey of tests and mystery diagonses and medications and alternative therapies ahead. My current Rheumatologist has also diagonsed me with FMS (Fibromyalgia). She believes that this started because of having JRA as a child. I have learned that this is quite common. Many people with RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) also develop FMS.
Arthritis literally means "inflation of the joints." Now this term is used much more loosely and with over 100 types of arthritis, not all involve inflation of the joints. With all of these 100 plus types of arthritis, over 66 million Americans have arthritis. Nationally, 1 in every 3 adults is doctor diagnosed with arthritis. And it is the number one cause of disability in the United States.
Now what exactly is arthritis? Well as I have JRA and FMS, I will tell you a little about them. On my sidebar I have included several links as well. One is to the Arthritis Foundation. They are a great organization that gives out brouchers, hold arthritis walks, have exerice programs and support groups, and have speakers that can come out and talk with you. (This last year I have worked with my AF and volunteered at JAM (Juvenile Arthritis March) and as a speaker to go out and speak about arthritis).
JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) effects one or many joints and can also effect body organs as well. Some symptoms for JRA are joint pain, inflammation, and stiffness. Many children with JRA also have symptoms that include uveitis, anemia, fevers, rashes, nodules, etc. I have what is called polyarticular JRA, which means that my JRA effects more than 5 joints. For me, these joints are: both of my hips, knees, and ankles, and starting in January, my right jaw as well. Children with JRA in four or less joints have Pauciarticular JRA. The thrid type of JRA, and the most rare (thankfully), is Systemic Onset JRA. Systemic Onset JRA effects the entire body. Many children with this type get daily high fevers and rashes as well as typical JRA symptoms. I'd like to add that not all children have the same symptoms and that everyone is effected differently by their arthritis,
FMS (Fibromyalgia) is a condition that causes wide-spread, chronic pain. It is a confusing condition that doctors still don't know too much about. It effects many different things in the body, including (but not all) pain (especially in the 18 tender points), fatique, depression and anxiety, migraines, word mix-ups and difficulty concentrating, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea, skin color changes, tingling limbs, and jaw pain. I have most of these symptoms and also several more not noted.
I am constantly in some form of pain or another, but I have learned to live with it as well. My grandmother also have Juvenile Arthritis, and her sister had lupus, in my family we believe that it was my genetics that caused my JRA, not everyone has a reason they can find and doctors and researchers are searching for reasons and cures. Because my grandmother died of ulcers from all the medications she took I no longer take medications on a daily basis. I did from when I was 2.5 up until I was a young teen. I decided on my own that I would stop and only take medication when I most needed it. I then explored many different alternative therapies, some worked and some didn't, but each one helped me along with my arthritis in discovering more about it and more about me.
..CD..
Arthritis literally means "inflation of the joints." Now this term is used much more loosely and with over 100 types of arthritis, not all involve inflation of the joints. With all of these 100 plus types of arthritis, over 66 million Americans have arthritis. Nationally, 1 in every 3 adults is doctor diagnosed with arthritis. And it is the number one cause of disability in the United States.
Now what exactly is arthritis? Well as I have JRA and FMS, I will tell you a little about them. On my sidebar I have included several links as well. One is to the Arthritis Foundation. They are a great organization that gives out brouchers, hold arthritis walks, have exerice programs and support groups, and have speakers that can come out and talk with you. (This last year I have worked with my AF and volunteered at JAM (Juvenile Arthritis March) and as a speaker to go out and speak about arthritis).
JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) effects one or many joints and can also effect body organs as well. Some symptoms for JRA are joint pain, inflammation, and stiffness. Many children with JRA also have symptoms that include uveitis, anemia, fevers, rashes, nodules, etc. I have what is called polyarticular JRA, which means that my JRA effects more than 5 joints. For me, these joints are: both of my hips, knees, and ankles, and starting in January, my right jaw as well. Children with JRA in four or less joints have Pauciarticular JRA. The thrid type of JRA, and the most rare (thankfully), is Systemic Onset JRA. Systemic Onset JRA effects the entire body. Many children with this type get daily high fevers and rashes as well as typical JRA symptoms. I'd like to add that not all children have the same symptoms and that everyone is effected differently by their arthritis,
FMS (Fibromyalgia) is a condition that causes wide-spread, chronic pain. It is a confusing condition that doctors still don't know too much about. It effects many different things in the body, including (but not all) pain (especially in the 18 tender points), fatique, depression and anxiety, migraines, word mix-ups and difficulty concentrating, abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea, skin color changes, tingling limbs, and jaw pain. I have most of these symptoms and also several more not noted.
I am constantly in some form of pain or another, but I have learned to live with it as well. My grandmother also have Juvenile Arthritis, and her sister had lupus, in my family we believe that it was my genetics that caused my JRA, not everyone has a reason they can find and doctors and researchers are searching for reasons and cures. Because my grandmother died of ulcers from all the medications she took I no longer take medications on a daily basis. I did from when I was 2.5 up until I was a young teen. I decided on my own that I would stop and only take medication when I most needed it. I then explored many different alternative therapies, some worked and some didn't, but each one helped me along with my arthritis in discovering more about it and more about me.
..CD..
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The "Normal" One
"No one with an abnormal sibling has a normal childhood. Consciously or unconsciously, every intact sibling is haunted by the fear of catching the disability, a fear that always has a modicum of psychological truth. Family gatherings and significant events become occasions for anxiety and suppressed shame. Cheerful caretakers, mature before their time, they are supposed to consider themselves lucky to be normal. They feel tormented by the compulsion to compensate for their parents' disappointments by having no problems and making no demands, and they are often unaware of the massive external and internal pressure to pretend that nothing is amiss. Their success is always tainted by their sibling's failure, their future clouded by an untoward sense of obligation and responsibility. Their goal is to be as different from their sibling as possible. They live forever in the shadow of the one who does not function."
Excerpt from the introduction to "The Normal One" by Jeanne Safer
I was actually unaware of this book until just a moment ago, after I created the title of this blog. I was trying to find a quote or poem that would help me start this blog and I just so happen to stumble upon a site for Siblings of Special Needs Children and it had a link to the site of Jeanne Safer and it had a larger excerpt. I will now be ordering or running to Barnes-Noble for this book tomorrow.
I should include the link to her page in this to. So here it is: http://thenormalone.com/
As for me. I think you can conclude that I am the "normal" one. I am a teenager who just completed her first year of college while still in high school. Including being the sibling to a brother with special needs, I also have a chronic disablility. I have JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) and FMS (Fibromyalgia). My autistic older brother is 20 and is graduating this month, which is a whole new journey in his life and the life of our family, the start of that journey is having to battle the task of cleaning our house for his graduation party next weekend.
And I'd like the disclaimer up, I'm not "normal," not by any means. Normal just can not exist as any definition of a person. No one is "just normal." No one. The title came about because that is what I often came and come across, "Oh, you're the normal one" or "Thank God your parents had at least one normal child." And my parents would be the ones who say, "Thank God we have two wonderful, healthy, beautiful children."
..CD..
Excerpt from the introduction to "The Normal One" by Jeanne Safer
I was actually unaware of this book until just a moment ago, after I created the title of this blog. I was trying to find a quote or poem that would help me start this blog and I just so happen to stumble upon a site for Siblings of Special Needs Children and it had a link to the site of Jeanne Safer and it had a larger excerpt. I will now be ordering or running to Barnes-Noble for this book tomorrow.
I should include the link to her page in this to. So here it is: http://thenormalone.com/
As for me. I think you can conclude that I am the "normal" one. I am a teenager who just completed her first year of college while still in high school. Including being the sibling to a brother with special needs, I also have a chronic disablility. I have JRA (Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis) and FMS (Fibromyalgia). My autistic older brother is 20 and is graduating this month, which is a whole new journey in his life and the life of our family, the start of that journey is having to battle the task of cleaning our house for his graduation party next weekend.
And I'd like the disclaimer up, I'm not "normal," not by any means. Normal just can not exist as any definition of a person. No one is "just normal." No one. The title came about because that is what I often came and come across, "Oh, you're the normal one" or "Thank God your parents had at least one normal child." And my parents would be the ones who say, "Thank God we have two wonderful, healthy, beautiful children."
..CD..
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