Are We Paying Attention Yet?

Today the CDC released a new study which estimates that 1 in 100 American children have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).   This is up from their previous estimate of 1 in 150.

Are we paying attention yet?

Please, do your research before vaccinating.  Whether you choose to vaccinate or not, you will have the power of knowledge.  I know this is a touchy topic, but I don't feel that I can keep quiet on this.

Here are a few books that I can recommend if you are interested in Autism, its causes, prevention, and treatments.

Evidence of Harm: Mercury in Vaccines and the Autism Epidemic: A Medical Controversy. by David Kirby

Autism Spectrum Disorders: The Complete Guide to Understanding Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, and other ASDs. by Chantal Sicile-Kira

Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds.  by Jenny McCarthy

Louder Than Words: A Mother's Journey Into Healing Autism.  by Jenny McCarthy

Animals in Translation.   by Temple Grandin

Knowledge is power.

Go claim yours.

Yup, I'm A Freak

I love freaky medical shows on Discovery Health or crazy shows on TLC about people that are really tall, or really short, or really missing all of their limbs.

These shows are my guilty pleasures.

So when my mom walked through the room while I was watching one I wasn't surprised by the conversation that ensued:

"What's wrong with this one?"

"Why do you assume something is wrong with her? Seriously!"

"....."

"Legs fused together."

"Uh Huh.  That's what I thought."

See, I have a freaky ability to retain information.  I have an eidetic memory so when I see something, it is pretty much branded into my brain.  I seem to have a particular knack for medical information.

Child with congenital hydrocephalus?

When was the shunt placed?

Bilateral deafness?

Are you considering cochlear implants?

Diagnosis of Osteogenesis Imperfecta?

Are you for or against rod surgery?

Cerebral Palsy patient?

Hypotonic or Hypertonic?  I hear Botox can help.

Trisomies? Tetrasomies?  Chromosome Deletion Syndrome?

I'll give you life expectancy and cause.

Child born prematurely?

How long in the NICU? Any IntraVentricular Hemorrhages? How about PDA ligation? Retinopathy of Prematurity? Sensory Integration Disorder? Reflux? What about a Nissen Fundoplication?

I really like this stuff.

I'm that big of a freak.

The Many Ears Of Arrow

Sometimes I threaten to cut off his ears, put them in a pita pocket and eat them with a little hummus.

Living In Wine Country

"I had a really disturbing dream last night."

"What was it about?"

"I was in a wine shop, looking for this Zin we had in San Francisco a few years ago, remember?"

"Oooh, that big jammy, sweet one?"

"That's the one, it was from South Africa.  Anyway, I was in the wine shop and I kept trying wine after wine and they all tasted just awful.  The Cabs were too thin, other Zins were not sweet enough.  Nothing was working.  So they poured me a flute of the most delicious champagne ever."

"And what did you do?"

"I got pissed.  I was like damnit!  I'm looking for a Zin here and you are getting me sidetracked with an $800 bottle of champagne."

"How dare they!"

"Totally.  Anyway, I never ended up finding the wine I wanted and just took home the bottle of the champagne.  It was cool how I could taste the wine in my dream though."

"Only you could have a dream like that."

"Yes, well.  I'm just that cray."

SNOW!

Last week we got a little dusting of snow that ended up accumulating about half an inch and staying on the ground for a couple of days.  Snow is possibly my favorite thing in the world.  I love the way it dampens sound and everything seems muffled.  I love the way that even the most ordinary objects look beautiful with a dusting of snow.  I love the way that the flakes float to Earth so calmly, as if nothing could make them rush.  I don't know if this love for snow comes from growing up in Texas where seeing snow was rare and meant traveling out of state or if it is just a part of me.  There is something magical about snow.  It has the ability to make even the most serious adults become children again. This was evidenced by me standing outside with my tongue out trying to catch snowflakes.

Arrow loves snow.  However, he was not impressed by the snow here.  He is used to the snow we see when we go to Lake Tahoe, the huge mountains of snow that he can frolic through.  He gets so excited when we pull onto our street in Tahoe.  He immediately knows where we are and starts running back and forth across the back of the car from window to window trying to get out.

We will be heading to Tahoe for a week after Christmas and I can't wait.  I'm sure there will be much frolicking in the snow by everyone.  Here is a picture of Arrow from a couple of years ago in Tahoe that demonstrates his love of snow pretty accurately.

A Recent Etsy Purchase

I bought these calling cards on Etsy recently and just had to share them.  The seller let me choose the artwork and placement to create a truly personalized card.  I just fell in love with her antique camera picture and decided to have it be the artwork for my card.  I had gotten tired of writing out the full blog address when people asked for it, so this is the perfect solution.  They cost $12.50 for 50 cards, so they are definitely reasonable.

Accidental Close Up

I'm sorry about the absolute lack of posts lately.  There has been a sickness going back and forth through my family and I have had it for the last week.  It's a lovely mixture of sore throat, body aches, chills, headache and sinus issues.  Anyway, your regularly scheduled posting will resume soon.