Trip To The ER

Archive for November 10th, 2010

Green Books Campaign – Turtle Dolphin Dreams

Posted by Heather Manning On November - 10 - 2010

This review is part of the Green Books campaign.Today 200 bloggers take a stand to support books printed in an eco-friendly manner by simultaneously publishing reviews of 200 books printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper. By turning a spotlight on books printed using eco- friendly paper, we hope to raise the awareness of book buyers and encourage everyone to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books.

The campaign is organized for the second time by Eco-Libris, a green company working to make reading more sustainable. We invite you to join the discussion on "green" books and support books printed in an eco-friendly manner! A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

I was so excited to hear about this campaign. On my desk I have a huge stack of “dead trees” that I need to review. My chosen format to read is an e-book on my Kindle. I’m good with reading a book printed on recycled material also. It’s an extra touch that I think would make a huge difference if every publisher would do it. The pages feel the same to me. I don’t see why others haven’t embraced this yet.

I got to review the book Turtle Dolphin Dreams by Marian K. Volkman for this campaign. I picked this book because I am a huge animal lover and dolphins are my favorite animal. You know that I support them if you check out the top of the post. You’ll see this button – .

I feel what we humans are doing to them (and all of them animals) is wrong and if things don’t change more, it may be irreparable. Let me give you the info on the book.

What if we shared planet Earth with other intelligent species? What if inter-species communication were really possible? Seek out some answers in Turtle Dolphin Dreams… An extremely unusual work of fiction in which three creatures, a turtle, a dolphin and a human link minds through dreams to bring a unique perception of the world. Most of the narration is by the Turtle (via the human) and Dolphin’s voice comes through both turtle and human, yet somehow this strange book hangs together and holds the reader’s attention.

We do share the planet with species that are highly intelligent and we are destroying them. IE: The Cove in Japan. Literally destroying them, not accidently as a by product of pollution or encroaching on their territory. Destroying them for nothing more than plain human greed and selfishness.

This book is wonderful. It comes at it from the angle of what would they say to us? What would these dolphins, the turtles, any of these creatures really, what would they say to us if they could tell us what they wanted us to know. These are living creatures who were in their areas before we came in to destroy them. These are living creatures who are part of the ecosystem that we take for granted, that we are destroying.

This book is thought provoking, it’s inspirational, it is for anyone who cares about anything to do with animals and our planet. Take a peak and see what the turtle, what the dolphin, what would they say to us if they could communicate with us. I loved this book. I want Jordan to read this book. I want all of my kids as they get older to read this book. To truly take a look around us and try to come up with a solution where we can co-exist without us hurting them so much.

Check out Turtle Dolphin Dreams on Amazon and read the reviews. They are amazing. This book touched each person who read it as much as it touched me. I think it could do the same for you! Make sure when you read it that you really look at the illustrations. I thought that they added a beautiful touch to the book!

Thank you so much to 2010 Green Books Campaign for letting me be a part of this. The book was amazing and the concept behind the campaign is amazing!

Visit the Turtle Dolphin Dreams website.

Follow the 2010 Green Books Campaign on Twitter and Facebook to find other reviews!

$1.00 of the sale of every copy of Turtle Dolphin Dreams sold was donated to Greenpeace.

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Book Reviews

Trip To The ER

Posted by Heather Manning On November - 10 - 2010

I posted yesterday that Jordan wasn’t feeling good and got sick at school on Monday. Yesterday he was acting so much better. He even accused me of keeping him home from school so that he could do his chores. Yes, that’s why. You caught me! Had nothing to do with that rule about no vomiting for 24 hours before returning to school. Silly boy.

Last night at about 6, I looked over at Jordan because he made a funny noise. His face was red, he had tears in his eyes, and he was clutching his stomach. I honestly thought he was going to fall over. After a few moments it eased. I told him to go to the bathroom. (Wouldn’t that be the first suggestion you would give also?) He did. A little bit later, it happened again. I was wondering if it was gas. (Sorry!) I suggested that and he said no. I said, I remember my mom taking me to the ER one time thinking I had appendicitis and it ended up just being that. Pato got home early, which was a fabulous surprise, and ended up being a good thing. Jordan kept getting those cramps, ripping up his stomach.

Pato said, take him to the ER. Make sure it’s not his appendix.

So, off Jordan and I went. We went to the new hospital beside us instead of going down to Blank Children’s. I think we would have been out faster going there, even with driving downtown. Blank tries to get the kids in and out quickly. We got there at 10 and left after 1 AM. At one point, I thought I was going to pass out. They were taking blood from Jordan. Or trying to. It took awhile to find a suitable vein to use. They found one in his hand. Put the needle in. Got it in the vein, and not a drop. So the guy was sitting there fishing around trying to get the blood to start flowing. Jordan was trying to be a tough guy, acting like it didn’t bother him, but I could see on his face it did. I asked him if he wanted me to hold his hand. No. But, you can squeeze it when it hurts. Nope.

After a few minutes, he finally got the blood to start flowing, so they didn’t have to find another vein, but I had to turn around. I was getting light headed from watching. I have no problem with blood. It was watching him move the needle around in Jordan’s vein that was making me sick.

I’ve had 4 kids. I’ve had so many iv’s between preeclampsia, dehydration, and epidurals. I don’t like to watch, but I’ve never felt that way with my own. Only one other time have I felt that way. It was when Alyce was a baby. She was sick and dehydrated. They had to find a vein multiple times. Poking her over and over again. Got the IV started once. It started leaking out of her hand. They had to find another vein and start over.

Oh, wait, there was another time. Katiana was 9 months old and had pneumonia. They had to take blood. I didn’t realize that the person taking it was learning and the nurse was supervising. She kept trying and trying until the nurse said, STOP! You’re going to collapse her vein. The nurse ended up doing it herself.

Back to Jordan. I ended up having to get a wet paper towel and mop my face with it. When they were done, I excused myself and went and got a cold bottle of water and just sat there breathing for a second. The nurse came out and said, be careful. Breathe slowly. We don’t want you passing out mom. Ok. I’m fine.

They did the blood test then added a strep and urine test.

All came back good.

The doctor said that the stomach flu was going around and most likely Jordan was on the tail end of it, causing gastrointestinal distress.

He told me that it would all depend on how Jordan was feeling with regards to going to school today. He hadn’t thrown up yesterday and if he felt alright this morning he could go.

Jordan got up this morning and said his stomach just hurt. I think it’s his muscles after all the cramping yesterday. He didn’t feel sick though and I sent him off to school after shooting off an email to his teacher, telling her that if he has one episode of cramping, to call me. I want to come get him.

Before all this happened, I decided to talk to his doctor about his ADHD. After the emails back and forth from his teacher regarding late assignments, classmates needing to bring Jordan back on track, etc, I thought as much as I hate it, he may have to be back on his medicine. He’s leading the 5th grade in late assignments. A lot of these are coming from not being able to focus at school, being easily distracted. His doctor and I decided that he is going to start taking his Concerta again.

From here:

A diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; DSM-IV) implies the presence of hyperactive-impulsive or inattentive symptoms that caused impairment and were present before age 7 years. The symptoms must cause clinically significant impairment, e.g., in social, academic, or occupational functioning, and be present in two or more settings, e.g., school (or work) and at home. The symptoms must not be better accounted for by another mental disorder.

For the Inattentive Type, at least six of the following symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months: lack of attention to details/careless mistakes; lack of sustained attention; poor listener; failure to follow through on tasks; poor organization; avoids tasks requiring sustained mental effort; loses things; easily distracted; forgetful.

For the Hyperactive-Impulsive Type, at least six of the following symptoms must have persisted for at least 6 months: fidgeting/squirming; leaving seat; inappropriate running/climbing; difficulty with quiet activities; “on the go;” excessive talking; blurting answers; can’t wait turn; intrusive. The Combined Type requires both inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive criteria to be met.

Jordan has every.single.one of those symptoms. He has since he was 3.

Jordan went about a year without medicine and he did ok. But, his teacher last year – she was a different person. She worked with Jordan. She was able to come up with creative ways to get him to get his work done. Now that he is in 5th grade, it’s all at a much faster pace, he has to be prepared for middle school, nobody seems to want to work with the fact that he has ADHD. It’s frustrating as a parent, it’s frustrating to Jordan, and I’m sure it is frustrating to his teacher. I’m thinking about asking about an individualized education plan. Technically, he should qualify for one, but I don’t know how to go about getting that started. I’m going to talk to his guidance counselor and see if she can’t help me get something started for him.

Have a wonderful day!

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