Hello Long Lost Friends and Family!
It has been so long since I have updated here.
Our family experienced the first hot and dusty summer in Kuwait. The Holy Month of Ramadan made eating and drinking in public during daylight hours impossible for several weeks in July and August. We enjoyed a 3 week respite in the states to see family in August. I think Kent was most excited to play outside without suffering heatstroke. Unfortunately, my dad broke his hip while we were home and has spent the rest of this year working on recovery. Getting old stinks.
I went back to working full time as a grade 3 teacher at Kent's school in September. Many things about the job are going well. Many things are hard. That is the career reality of a teacher though. We owe a lot of our sanity to Manori our beloved maid who watches Kent after school and who cooks for us during the week. She is truly the glue that keeps the crazy together.
Kent started the year in grade 1 and was moved up to grade 2 in November. It was such a difficult decision for Brad and I to make, but administration really made a strong case for the move and it has been nothing but perfect. His grade 2 teacher is excellent and he is thriving right where he belongs academically and socially. This year's never ending Little League season is keeping us all busy each weekend. Brad is the assistant coach and I am sideline support. There isn't much to do here, so it is good to have this activity on our schedule.
Just as I was settling in to my new job this fall, I started having some severe headaches and vision issues. My vision would go black and then lift like a theater curtain after several seconds. I thought I was dying.
Medically, it has been a hard year. Nonetheless we have fun things planned for our summer already. We have a yurt camping trip on the southern tip of Spain near the Straits of Gibraltar scheduled for early July, and then a 3 week trip to visit my parents in Virginia for the rest of July.
We have enjoyed our time abroad, but to be honest, we are now counting the months until we return to Virginia permanently. Summer 2015 is going to be AWESOME!!!
Much love to you all,
Carol
It has been so long since I have updated here.
Our family experienced the first hot and dusty summer in Kuwait. The Holy Month of Ramadan made eating and drinking in public during daylight hours impossible for several weeks in July and August. We enjoyed a 3 week respite in the states to see family in August. I think Kent was most excited to play outside without suffering heatstroke. Unfortunately, my dad broke his hip while we were home and has spent the rest of this year working on recovery. Getting old stinks.
I went back to working full time as a grade 3 teacher at Kent's school in September. Many things about the job are going well. Many things are hard. That is the career reality of a teacher though. We owe a lot of our sanity to Manori our beloved maid who watches Kent after school and who cooks for us during the week. She is truly the glue that keeps the crazy together.
Kent started the year in grade 1 and was moved up to grade 2 in November. It was such a difficult decision for Brad and I to make, but administration really made a strong case for the move and it has been nothing but perfect. His grade 2 teacher is excellent and he is thriving right where he belongs academically and socially. This year's never ending Little League season is keeping us all busy each weekend. Brad is the assistant coach and I am sideline support. There isn't much to do here, so it is good to have this activity on our schedule.
Just as I was settling in to my new job this fall, I started having some severe headaches and vision issues. My vision would go black and then lift like a theater curtain after several seconds. I thought I was dying.
I saw a neurologist and then an ophthalmologist in Kuwait. The neurologist discovered a small benign tumor that was an incidental find (AKA not the reason for my headaches and vision issues). This was discovered through several types of CT and MRI scans. The ophthalmologist discovered my optic nerves were severely swollen and I was weeks away from permanent loss of some peripheral vision. He suspected something called idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
See info here: http://www.
The next step in diagnosis was spinal tap. I wasn't going to have that done in Kuwait.
I flew to London and spent 6 days in the hospital redoing all the previous tests and having a spinal tap. Normal pressure in the spinal fluid is 18-20. Mine was 36.5. They took 30ccs of fluid off and my symptoms stopped immediately. I currently am taking 1000 mg of a medication used for altitude sickness. It limits my body's production of the spinal fluid. I have also lost 15 lbs.
Several weeks ago I flew to London again to have another spinal tap. This time my pressure was down to 30. They took off 10 ccs of spinal fluid. I suffered from severe low pressure headaches with severe nausea and vomiting upon sitting or standing for about a week following the procedure. This is a possible side effect. Unfortunately it hit when I was flying back to Kuwait alone. It was a HORRIFIC flight.
I will return to London again in August for another spinal tap.
Medically, it has been a hard year. Nonetheless we have fun things planned for our summer already. We have a yurt camping trip on the southern tip of Spain near the Straits of Gibraltar scheduled for early July, and then a 3 week trip to visit my parents in Virginia for the rest of July.
We have enjoyed our time abroad, but to be honest, we are now counting the months until we return to Virginia permanently. Summer 2015 is going to be AWESOME!!!
Much love to you all,
Carol
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