Her Sun Set Too Soon

I just found out about what happened to Wendy Buckner.

Because we lived in different countries, I only got to hang out with her once in person. But I was immediately drawn to her, and I enjoyed every moment in her wise and witty presence. We've stayed in touch the last few years, and the news of her passing hit me hard enough to stop everything and have a good cry.

Godspeed, Wendy. I hope that red Prada purse is waiting for you in Heaven.

Wendy at the 2007 IMWI Tri Blogger meet up.

Bulletish Points

Life is hectic, still buried under those two big website projects with no end in sight. But the clients are happy with the work I'm sending in, so it's all good.

Squeezed in an afternoon at the lake on Saturday with Bear. And my BFF and her toddler (Bear's favorite human being on the planet, whom he asks for daily.) And another awesome friend and her 1 yo and 3 yo. And my sistah Dag and our godson the unbelievably Adorable Quiet Child.

I think the kids had almost as much fun as I did.

Had a GREAT time. Discovered that A) SPF 70 rocks and B) there are bits on my back I can't reach with SPF 70.

Which brings me to C) Lidocaine aloe gel rocks. Someday I'll be able to put on a bra and lean back against a chair again.

Oh, and a quick jaunt out to the middle of the (tiny) lake proved I've been doing the right thing by my shoulder by *not* swimming. Not that my pool is open - now they're hoping for repairs to be done by July.

Not sure if I already mentioned... Bear's EEG was clear. So, officially no seizures. Which means the explanation for his little "spells" are probably self-imposed time outs by a sensory overloaded brain.

Shoulder still a problem, already hurting again just a few weeks after cortisone shot. Didn't race in Naperville on the 13th, but did go volunteer and had a BLAST.
Apparently when you know what's going on, organize your station and answer all the athlete's questions they give you a walkie talkie and put you in charge. Made it worth getting up at 4.

And the total bonus was I got to see MommyMeepa obliterate her PR by 30 minutes! She so totally rocked that race, I can't wait to hear how she does at her first Oly next month!

We Oughta Be a Case Study or Somethin

First off, in case I haven't said it loud enough for y'all to hear through the window, BIRKENSTOCKS SO TOTALLY CURED MY PLANTAR FASCIITIS!

Kay. On to new business.

Saw the good neurologist Friday. The one we waited for 6 months to get in with. Worth every minute of that wait. LOVE this man. First time we've had an appointment where I felt like the doctor was truly intent on evaluating and diagnosing the problems with my precious Bear.

And boy, oh boy was there some diagnosing going on.

In a nutshell:
1) Sensory Processing Disorder - the one we already knew about, and what brought us to him in the first place

2) Speech and Language Processing Disorder - not exactly a surprise, but still disappointing to hear (but on the bright side, probably improves his chances of getting continued therapy through school district once he ages out of EI)

3) Possibly: Autism... wait and see. There are enough red flags to prevent him from ruling it out altogether (unlike the previous neurologist, who laughed it off). But, he's far from a clear cut case. His social development is delayed and we are under orders to watch it closely. In time, if he catches up socially we're in the clear. If not, doctor will revisit possibility of autism.

4) Possibly: ADHD... wait and see. Too young to rule in or out, and could just be the sensory seeking behaviors that are often dead ringers for ADHD. Doctor and I agree medication is not appropriate for him. Doc said when he's school age, if he really, truly can't function, we can consider meds as a last resort. So, back burner on this one.

5) Possibly: Non Epileptic Seizure Disorder - Bear has little spacey, unresponsive spells. I thought they were infrequent, but now it sounds like I just don't see them as often because he's more independent (i.e. playing in next room) or with another adult. After talking with all his therapists, every single one told me it's something they've noticed and been wanting to discuss with me. But, might not be seizures - because of his sensory disorder, it could be his brain putting him in a self-imposed time out due to sensory overload. EEG scheduled for early June to learn more.

Oh, and he's getting the surgery to put tubes in his ears next Monday.

Aaaaand... oh yeah! Today, my endo declared recent blood test results "Excellent!" My inner overachiever is hoping he puts a gold star on my chart.

With all this, I somehow managed to squeeze in an appointment for my chronically owie shoulder. Doc gave me 3 choices:

1) Ice & ibuprofen & time (because that's worked so well thus far!)
2) PT
3) Cortisone shot

I'd kill for the time (& room in my budget) for more sessions with my awesome PT. But that's just not gonna happen right now. So, I opted for the cortisone shot.

Bear was with me, making things interesting.

I can now say I've taken a 4 inch needle in my right shoulder while wrangling a Bear with my left arm. I is a Mommy ROCK STAR.

My doc (marathon guy) half jokingly suggested I could still do the tri in 3 weeks if I floated on my back and didn't use my right arm to swim. I don't think he'd bat an eye if I actually DID try that. But it doesn't feel like the right thing to do, seeing as how my shoulder's been painful enough to wake me up at night and I'm resorting to giant needles because that's somehow the easy way out. There's still the race in August - that's feels like plenty of time for my shoulder to recover.

And now... I'm off to do Bear's pre-surgical hospital check in call. Good times.

(Oh, and that whole Mean Mr. Meaniehead Husband suggesting my bike speeds weren't legit thing? I. WIN.)

Road ID Coupon Codes

Hi guys!

Wanted to pass along a couple of coupon codes for RoadID.com, in case you're thinking about ordering one soon. I just ordered one for Bear, and am thinking about getting another one to keep on my transition bag.

This code was posted on RoadID's facebook page as a mother's day special - it's good for 15% off through Wednesday 5/5: pcMOM589

This code was sent to me personally after my latest order. They said it's good for $1 off, for up to 20 uses in the next 30 days (expires circa 5/29). I think 2 people have used it so far: ThanksMichelle744186

They've also posted about an outreach effort they're doing to spread awareness of RoadID to first responders (EMTs, police, etc). Because it doesn't do any good to wear them if the emergency personnel responding doesn't know to look for it!

So, please pass the word about RoadID to any first responders in your social circle - it could save somebody's life!

Aero what now?

Actually made it on my scheduled 10 mile bike ride yesterday. All the necessary factors were in place...

- Glorious spring day? CHECK!
- Stiff head wind? CHECK!
- Packed recreation trail? CHECK!

There are these funky bar thingies that stick out on the front of my bike. Aerowhatsis or something?

Wait, it's coming back to me.... aerobars! I can has them.

And I can kinda sorta even use them without falling over! And look just a leetle bit cool passing the family walking behind their toddler's trike!

I did forgot that I still needed to reset my cadence computer. Remembered to start it when I started, but I got cocky and tried to start and stop it manually at the busy intersections and accidentally wiped out my workout halfway in.

About halfway in I also started having trouble clipping on the left. About the time I realized I'd wiped the workout off the computer I glanced down and noticed I could see my cleat.

Hanging off the side of my foot.

Which would certainly splain the clipping issues.

I felt all fancy digging my bike tool out of my bottle rocket carrier; managed to tighten it up enough to limp home.

Bonus - lots of unplanned one leg drills!

Both my cleat thingies are bent and I'm missing most of the screws. Could get new screws, but the bent thing has me concerned. Not thrilled I need to spend money on replacements. But feeling kind of cool that I need to replace my cleats even though I can safely say I haven't but 5000 miles on them.

In general my biking is surprising the heck out of me. I'm averaging several MPH faster than I used to and feel like I've got more miles in me than before. Think I might set a personal goal of making it up to a 35 mile bike ride this summer - ashamed to admit I've never ridden more than 26 miles.

In other news... Bear's getting tubes in his ears in 2 weeks. Hopefully this is the start of a fever & antibiotic free life for him!

***UPDATE***

Mean Mr. Meaniehead (FKA Wonderful Husband) just pointed out my awesomely fast bike times might have something to do with the recently improperly reset bike computer.

To quote Mythbuster Adam: I reject your reality, and substitute my own.

Meanwhile... *heads upstairs to find bike computer manual*