Health

Back in 2007, whilst still residing interstate, I had the pleasure of listening to Francois Gagne address the local members of the NSW Gifted and Talented Association. He presented, to us, his Model of Giftedness and Talent [link to PDF].

During the event, that evening, I perused the Association's library and ordered a copy of Mary Sheedy Kurcinka's 'Raising Your Spirited Child' with PJ Bear in mind. He was only just two at the time but I felt that the subtitle (A Guide for Parents Whose Child is More Intense, Sensitive, Perceptive, Persistent, and Energetic) acknowledged something I saw in him even back then.

Recently, I stumbled upon the book again. I am looking at it now with new eyes. I can at a single flip through the sections I read last time and those I did not. Now that we know that his issues are not strictly behavioural or flat-out medical it makes be wonder if the missing pieces of the puzzle can be in that his coming of age has brought out new challenges that are addressed in those untouched sections of the book that I find before me?

Already, I find myself captivated with lots of small examples that encapsulate my experiences. Like, for example:

[I] needed to talk with other parents who understood what it is like to live with a child who could scream for forty-five minutes because his toast was cut into triangles and he was expecting rectangles. The kind of kid who would rather die than take no for an answer and knew the perfect trigger to "push my buttons".

Kurcinka, M.S. (2006), Raising Your Spirited Child,p 1.

Oh, how did she know. Is there a hidden camera in my kitchen? No? What about my kids bedroom, then? Because how could she know about the bedroom trashings too?

..much of the advice for raising other children is ineffective with spirited kids. To ignore your child's tantrums is ineffective with spirited kids. He can rage for an hour because you opened a door when he was expecting to do it himself. Send him to his room for time-out and he is liable to tear it apart. There is no distracting him from anything he wants.

Kurcinka, M.S. (2006), Raising Your Spirited Child,p 15.

I don't know if the answers are really here but I suspect this is a reread that I will come to enjoy as I am sure there will be many more tales that I ignored last time because they were not relevant to that stage of PJ's life but perhaps are now. I suspect this is a reread that I am really going to enjoy!

Well howdy-do everyone! I did promise updates on my plans to qualify myself as a Pilates Instructor as I signed up for education for the first time in a very long time. Well, with the plans of mice and men, my plan did not go as I hoped. My course required an 'Anatomy and Physiology' unit as a prerequisite.

I enrolled in the required Anatomy & Physiology class at a college and arranged my other commitments around the session time. However, like the plans of mice and men, things just did not work out. The class was rescheduled for later in the day. This meant that I could not make the commitment and I needed to withdraw until it is again offered later in the year.

Life!

Every political generation we see a new round of advertising on matters of health. From the 'Slip! Slop! Slap!' campaign of 1983, through to the spin of Life Be In it advertisement where even Norm took up the advice.

Norm was Life Be In It's poster child for not being active and had a long history of advertising in Victoria before being adopted nationally. With ads looking at his habits and then campaigning to him they covered all in ways that simply would not be 'politically correct' today. (Oh, how I miss seeing those campaigns).

Gone are the simple fun advertisements to be more active of yesteryear. Today, we are bombarded with the 'be active' campaigns. They are not as pervasive on television. But instead, bombard our car parking at the supermarket instead, telling us that we should park further away from the doors just to 'be active'.

And, of course, it wouldn't be political unless they were also promoting it through our schools with their 'be active' Challenge. Yes, each year some schools run a 4 or 10 week challenge for their students to undertake an hour of activity each day for 5 days a week. At four weeks the child gets a medal and at ten weeks the school has a chance to get a certificate and some State Government funded sports gear without tapping into their own budget.

Of course, I do wish that more Aussie schools and communities would become more pro-active in and of themselves. I love our local walking groups and all our sporting teams that play locally. With all the global media now it can be so hard for the profile of these vitally important local groups to be raised. Of merit too, are those schools and community groups who organise something active and fun that is outside the norm. One school in the United States captured my attention this week.

Primrose Schools are having a competition-based family dance off. Of course, none of the silliness of the school dance-off on Grease, no, of course it will be crazier than that! You can find out more, watch some hilarious footage, and be inspired to shake that bootie for yourself by checking out the web site for the full scoop as "legal residents of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia" submit their videos in the hope of snatching up the cash grand prize whilst raising money for charity. Now, that is community and charitably minded and, by golly, I hope to see more of it!

My Christmas wish for you is that in these festive times you can see past pain, hurts and troubles to reach out your hand. I pray that your hand will give hope to another as you reach out to help.

My Christmas wish for you is that all that you do, albeit the same as any other day, that it will be done with appreciation for all that you have that others may not. I pray that you are enveloped in joy as you serve others.

My Christmas wish for you is that you take the time to love someone else that you find hard to love. I pray that in doing so that you feel loved for just being yourself too.

My Christmas wish for you is that you can consider others with a higher regard than yourself. Then, when you arrive home safely after your celebrations, I pray that you can bring thanks to God that no one lost their life at your hands that same night.

My Christmas wish for you is that you can share the spirit of Christmas in special ways with those who see you in a faceted way. I pray that your life is a testimony of love to work colleagues and clients, to playgroup mums and to the barrista at your local coffee bar.

My Christmas wish for you is that as you contemplate the year ahead that your already laid plans clearly seen as wise or unwise. I pray that all fear, angst and stress be replaced with empowerment, encouragement and, above all, peace.

With love at Christmas

Well, surgery happened two days ago now and being my first surgery ever I was not sure what to expect which has it's pros and cons.

Firstly, I had an in depth discussion with the anesthetist about my concerns. After taking my pulse he asked whether I had ever seen a cardiologist about my bradycardia. Of course, the answer was no, because it was always associated with my fitness levels. However, he spiked my concern enough to follow it up with my GP because my resting heart rate has continued to decline even since I stopped working with my personal trainer and started to slacken off a bit.

So, that is on my 2011 to-do list.

He decided that, yes, a general anesthetic would add risks related to lower heart rate so we decided to go with an epidural and a foot block with some other drug that will make me drowsy. Of course, that was not administered until they started the surgery so they knew for sure that I did not feel the pain. It was a good outcome from my perspective as they could keep my heart rate at around 40bpm that way.

I guess it was strange having a Surgeon that was approximately my age working on me. He was listening to the same music I listened to as a teenager in the Operating Theater. It was a little disconcerting listening to Metallica as they cut me open but I got over it.

So, foot blocks are great until they wear off and if you have had your foot cut open then you can't expect paracetmaol and codeine to cut the mustard. Instead I have been juggling in Endone to manage the pain the best I can. Night-time trips to the bathroom are the worst as the meds have worn off whilst you were sleeping so moving more than 5 meters induces a great desire to vomit and pass out with the nausea.

The whole thing looks pretty messy right now. I am not meant to remove the dressing for two weeks apparently. I am not sure that it will last that long with the sensitivity of my skin grafts but I guess we will see. I am sure that if the weather gets any warmer I will be pulling them off at the first available opportunity.

In the mean time the couch has become my bed as it allows me to elevate my foot in a way that allows me to lie on my back front or side without having issues with the way my foot rests. It is nice to be able to minimise that throbbing feeling where possible.

Many a day of living on the couch ahead - I am looking forward to the time off.