Snowmageddon 2012

We waited for the anticipated snow with hesitation.  So often the forecasted snow turns out to be little more than a dusting, a couple inches at most.

Tuesday brought exactly that...2 inches of snow everywhere but our yard.  You see, we have about a dozen tall fir trees beside and behind our house sheltering our yard.  While our neighbors' yards were covered in the beautiful white stuff, our yard was almost entire green with grass.  Still we bundled up to go play in the street.  Happily, we were invited to enjoy the snow in our neighbor's yard.  

We built in a small snowman with strawberry eyes, a baby carrot nose, and fir cone mouth; it stood for a hour or two.  

Tuesday night and Wednesday was expected to bring the most snow.  We all climbed into bed with high hopes, and we weren't disappointed.  We awoke to find 13 inches of snow covering our yard; I didn't measure elsewhere, but I know other yards must have had at least 15 inches given the differences from the day before.  We were ecstatic.  No one cared much that we couldn't drive out to find a hill to sled on.  Sam and I walked a mile to Cutter's Point Coffee to enjoy hot chocolate and a pastry.  When we returned, Mika and Scott headed out for their own trip.  Meanwhile, I bundled the littles up and took them out to play.  It was an enjoyable day.

Maddie loved the snow.  She's yelling at me in this photo that she fell down (and couldn't get back up).  I had to get my photos first.  

Old Zach turned into a puppy again.  He loves the snow!  I was riling him up and throwing snow at him.  

Gracie, on the other hand, did not like the snow.  I brought him out there to see what he thought, and he was freaked out.  He didn't seem to know which way to go or if he even could go.  I rescued him pretty quickly.

Later Scott took Maddie back outside to play some more.  While he was out there, he built a much better snowman than I.  It had four balls of snow, was taller than he, and had the cutest big nose and hair.

By evening, it was quiet and peaceful and wonderful out there.  Just like a winter postcard.

But then the ice storm hit, leaving a quarter of an inch of ice on top of the snow.  We have one tree with thin, light colored branches that was beautiful.  Each branch and twig was fully encased in a clear ice tube.  Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture.  Beauty aside, the ice storm brought an end to the delight.

We lost power at 6:30am Thursday morning, when the house was still at overnight temperatures.  We weren't worried.  We had some wood and some blankets.  Our gas stove could be lit manually for hot water and cooking.  No big deal.    We sat in the darkened house, playing games, using our gadgets until the batteries wore out, and listening to large tree limbs crashing down into the yard or onto the deck periodically.  The big kids tried playing a few board games.

I spent a good portion of my time cooking meals and heating water to do the dishes.  I took a walk to the store for some food for the day (we had plenty of food but not the kind you can easily prepare in the dark without electricity and only a stove).  I brought back hot dogs, chips, and cookies for dinner and a bundle of wood.  Later, Scott headed out and brought back another bundle of wood.   The house was getting colder so we bundled up and tried keeping everyone in the school room where the fireplace is.

Here's our candlelight hot dog dinner.

After dinner, we pulled out every sleeping bag, comfortable, quilt, blanket, afghan, and throw we owned.  Our plan was to camp out by the fire with Scott trying to keep the fire through the night if he awoke.  I couldn't get the littles to sleep so we ended up moving to the master bedroom.  On the bed we had a sheet, a summer weight quilt, two twin comforters turned sideways, and an open sleeping bag.  It felt like we were sleeping under a ton but we were warm.  The big kids and Scott each had at least three blankets and the fire but it wasn't enough to keep them warm.  

We woke up to no power and the thermostat at 51 degrees.  We called the power company and were told to expect at least another day without power (205,000 homes in three counties lost power).  We couldn't get the littles to stay under the blankets.  We decided it was time to leave.  So, we put out a call for shelter and got several offers.  After packing a couple of backpacks with underclothing, pjs, technology for keeping the kids busy, some pillows, and Josh's carseat, we hiked four blocks to Safeway where a friend picked us up in two trips.

Our power came on briefly Friday and went out again.  It came back on Saturday morning, but we stayed with our friends until after dinner to ensure it would stay on, to give the house time to heat back up, and to help eat the dinner started just before the heat returned (way too much food for their small family).

We were so thankful to come back home Saturday evening.  We picked up some of our camp out, enjoyed some dessert, and headed to bed.  Sunday we lazed about because we were still rather tired.  Today, I headed out to inspect the damage and start clean up.  Here's what I found:

Several large branches fell in the front yard.  To the right, you'll see a branch arc off the side of the photo.  It impaled itself several inches deep.  The green patch in the center is large and small branches of fir about a foot deep.  

Here's an overview of our backyard.  There's a large branch behind me as well.

Here's more of the backyard.  It's kind of a mess back there, too.

The deck sustained only minor damage.  There are three small splinters/chunks missing from the horizontal rails.  The hand rail on one side of stairs is split down the middle as well.  

The bad news:  Scott lost a week of work and his car is very dead.

The good news:  I have great neighbors and friends.  My neighbor, John and I, helped another neighbor I hadn't met yet clear her driveway so she could get to work again.  Then he came over and helped me with the front yard.  He cut the larger branches into firewood I need to stack for seasoning.  He also let me use his wheel barrow for hauling the small stuff.  He's going to come help me with the back yard also.  He also offered to let me borrow his van when I need it, provided insurance is ok.  Another neighbor offered me rides to the store or wherever if I need it.  Several homeschool moms offered husbands and brothers to help us fix our car (though it is unlikely to be fixed because it has a different kind of transmission that requires computer aided installation and programming.)

Challenges

I'm trying to get us back onto a routine.  It's been challenging for more reasons that just Christmas break and winter blues.  The vertigo I suffered from five years ago seems to be back.  I'm going to rattle on about that in this post, giving the history, symptoms, and possible causes.  It's gonna be long.  Obviously, you don't have to read this or any other post; feel free to skip it.  If you, too, suffer from vertigo in any form maybe you'll be comforted by the knowledge that you are not alone.  If you feel moved to pray for me, I would definitely appreciate that.

I've been susceptible to motion sickness my entire life.  Get me in a car for more than an hour, on a hot day, or on windy roads and I'd be sick.  I never actually threw up, just wished I could.  I'd read in the car just so I could feel sick faster and fall asleep.  Put me on a boat and I would throw up.  Put me on a plane and I'd feel sick too.  Now that I'm driving, I can handle car rides better but I've found that if I start out driving the damage accumulates and I get sick in the passenger seat quite quickly.  Fortunately, the discovery of ginger capsules have made car, sea, and air sickness a thing of the past.

Despite the motion sickness issues, I've always loved amusement rides and could ride them all without problems.  As an adult, I have an increasing list of rides I cannot go on.  Teacups, spinning rides of any kind, are a no go.  I have to be careful of rides that put too much force on my neck so if I ride has seats that support the head, I'm more likely to be ok riding it.  I'm sure I'll have fewer and fewer ride options as time goes on.

So, getting sick from motion is nothing new.  Having the world move on its own accord and getting sick from that is fairly new.

I'll never forget my pregnancy with Joshua.  It was the best pregnancy because my morning sickness was well controlled.  Then the vertigo hit.  I woke up one morning and the world was spinning very fast at a 45 degree angle.  I couldn't move.  I found that the only thing I could do was lay as still as humanly possible on one side. I could not lay on my stomach, back, or the other side.  Any movement, no matter how small, sent the world spinning.  As I laid there, I waited as long as possible to go to the restroom because doing so meant I'd other being peeing in the toilet and puking in a bowl, or puking in the toilet and peeing my pants.  It lasted for 48 hours.  I'd wake up on day three totally fine.  Three to six weeks later, the cycle repeated itself.

With recurring vertigo, I went to the doctor and saw my ENT.  They did hearing tests and may have done other non-invasive tests.  There were some tests that they couldn't do because I was pregnant.  We found no answers.  I was given meclizine, which didn't help, and sent home.

Towards the end of my pregnancy, the vertigo disappeared just as suddenly as it had come.  Over the next four years, I had what I would consider normal dizziness.  Sometimes if I turned my head wrong while lying down (lying on my side and turning to look behind me) or getting up too fast, I would have momentary dizziness that immediately went away.  Then we moved.

The new house grew mold on the windows during the winter.  That is common here in Washington.  However, this mold proved to be different.  Because all of the blinds were drawn, I didn't notice it.  Then I woke up with vertigo one morning.  I also somehow noticed that the windows were moldy.  I bleached the windows, and the vertigo went away, not to return for three weeks.  I woke up dizzy again and found mold in the same staged of growth as before.  Bleaching the windows resolved the vertigo for another three weeks.

We moved out of there two and a half months ago.  Almost immediately, my normally congested nose felt better.  (The other house was also very dusty.)  But in December, I got hit with vertigo pretty hard.  On day three, it was so bad that I drove myself to the doctor as soon as I was upright and safe to drive.  While there, I tried to lay down, which caused a horrible spin, quickly followed by puking, which lead to a shot of phenagren and having to call my husband to come pick us up.  The doctor gave me prescriptions for meclizine and valium and sent me home with a tentative diagnosis of Meniere's Disease (not good!).  Three days later, I was finally back to normal with the help of meclizine to help me out of bed.

Dizziness visited me again this week...for eight days.  It's been mild compared to previous bouts.  Meclizine has been my friend.  Usually I've needed it first thing in the morning (take it and stay in bed for half an hour waiting for it to work) and sometimes again in the afternoon.  But I've been partially functional in that I'm up and can make a meal or two.  This week was different, though, in that I also had a moderately bad headache all week, as well.  And I think the trigger was the ocular migraine I gave myself on Sunday by not eating lunch before 2pm (guaranteed ocular migraine trigger).

Yesterday and today have been better.  I'm not 100% but I'm definitely better.

So, all this has given me the motivation to make major changes.  If the doctor is right and I have Meniere's Disease, the vertigo will likely get worse and I'll likely lose at least some of my hearing in the affected ear (my right).  I'm not sure he is right, though, because I don't have any hearing loss that I'm aware of and I pass hearing tests just fine to the amazement of my ENT (my ear drums are in horrible shape from ear infections).  It is possible not to have hearing loss in the beginning stages though so it is possible.

Another possibility I've stumbled upon is vestibular migraines, also know as migraine associated vertigo.  Apparently, migraines can come in the form of vertigo with or without headaches.  They can also have tinnitus (I've had for many years), aural fullness, and other symptoms.  In other words, they look a lot like Meniere's. the difference is that migraines are MUCH more common than Meniere's.  I think this is more likely my issue, in part, because I had classic migraines as a teen and into my early 20's.  They are triggered by stress.  As those reduced in frequency, I started having ocular migraines.  Low blood sugar is the primary trigger for those.  It makes sense that my migraines might have morphed into vestibular ones as well.  It's certainly a possibility.

Finally, mold.  There is water damage under the wood floor by the front door.  We didn't notice until after we moved it though it is very obvious.  Who'd of thought you need to inspect the floor?  We found out after the first big rain that it was an ongoing issue.  Interestingly, that first big rain occurred three weeks before my vertigo started (see how long it took for me to get dizzy after bleaching the windows in the previous house).  We have no idea if there is mold under that floor.  I do believe it is definitely possible that mold is an issue in and of itself or is a trigger for vestibular migraines.

Now I keep saying it is possible.  I don't know how long it will take to figure out the true problem.  It could be years.  One challenge in all this is that I am unable to go through the usual testing done for people with vertigo.  I don't have the doctor's help in figuring this out.  Without medical insurance, it is just too expensive.  So, I'm on my own to research and try to figure it out on my own.

I'm starting with dietary possibilities.  We were going dairy free at least temporarily for other reasons.  Because a considerable number of people with Meniere's and vestibular migraines are helped by gluten free diets, we're dropping that as well.  I might be a factor in the reasons we are going dairy free so it won't hurt to give it a try.   We're already mostly soy free (soybean oil and soy lethicin have not been a concern).  The hardest part will be outside food; there's food at church every week, for instance.  I'm also looking at homeopathic and natural supplements.  I'm working on behavior; it's time for me to get exercise, lose weight, and get our family on a more consistent routine.  Finally, I'll be putting together a home binder (like Flylady's) and teaching my older two kids more cooking so that they can take on more responsibility on days I'm not functioning.

So, there it is.  If you read all that, you're awesome.  If you want to pray that I find a cause and suitable treatment, that would be awesome too.

Yes, I'm still here

The month of December always gets away from me, and this year was no exception.  In addition to the usual insanity of the month, I lost almost an entire week to vertigo.  Life ceases when the world spins wildly with every move you make!

So, anyway...

We spent the first two weeks of December wrapping up school work: finishing up chapters so we wouldn't end mid-chapter or lesson and finishing up two big projects. 

The big kids finished the volcano they were building.  It looked great.  They added Monopoly houses and Life people.  They even had a guy fishing in a lake on the bottom of the mountain.  We erupted the volcano which, unfortunately, took out the fisherman and slid his car along with the flow.  It was great fun.

Mikaela finished her continent.  I think it looks great!  Sam finished all but the ocean.  He ran out of colored pencil and had to wait until replacements arrived.  He'll be picking it back up to finish now that school is back in session.

I also did some Christmas crafts with the littles, which I already shared in a previous post.

We made some ornaments.  The snowmen were really cute.  The swirled colored balls did not work out well at all.  Over time, the paint inside all slid to the bottom leaving a lot of the bulb uncolored/see-through.  I don't know if it was because we used plastic instead of glass bulbs, but it was really disappointing.  We scattered the cinnamon applesauce ornaments throughout the house and cars hoping they'd make everything smell nice. They only affected the scent in the cars, so that was kind of disappointing.

Then I spent a week dizzy.  I ended up taking myself to the doctor on morning when I was steady enough to drive.  Unfortunately, while I was there, I was so tired from lack of sleep that I tried to lay down and sent myself whirling again.  After a shot to stop my vomiting, I had to call my husband to come get us, stranding his car in another city from where we live.  A friend came and spent the next day with my kids because I wasn't sure if I would be functional.  Meclizine got me through the next few days until I finally recovered completely.

Finally, there was the mad rush to finish Christmas shopping and handmade Christmas gifts.  I got everything done, just barely in time.

I spent a lot of my evenings working on this Ood ski mask for Sam.  He loved it.  An ood is an alien from Doctor Who.

My dad visited for a few days and then there was the mad dash to get ready for Sam's birthday party, which went off well with the exception that I forgot to give out party favors.

And now it is time for school again despite the fact that I never got around to finishing grading for December or planning.  We're kind of winging it for now.

How did your December go?