This month has been a busy one for us. April 4th was the eighteenth birthday of our oldest grandson, Glenn. This is a picture of Glenn not long after he was born.
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| Glenn |
He was a very sick little baby as he has a condition we would later come to know was EE or Eosinophilic Esophagitis. He went from a healthy looking newborn to being emaciated and malnutritioned. The condition is very serious. It is one in which an allergic reaction takes place inside the esophagus, causing major inflammation and deterioration in the lining of the digestive system.
In Glenn's case, he was allergic to pretty much every thing he ate, literally. The condition was identified and named only within the last two decades or so and Glenn's case was not diagnosed properly and treated for many years. We finally found a doctor at the Medical College of Georgia(now known as Georgia Regions) who recognized what he had and, in my opinion, is responsible for the life or quality of life Glenn has today. Up until that time, he regurgitated almost everything time he ate every day of his life. He would scream because he was in such pain after being given his bottle. Today he still has some issues but we pray he has outgrown the disease, though he has not had any tests for it for several years now. If you are interested in learning more about EE, you can go
this site of Mayo Clinic. I think everyone, especially parents of newborns and children, should be made aware of the condtion so that they can be educated when seeking out diagnoses of symptoms similar to reflux but much more severe and painful!
Glenn chose to celebrate at
Kobe Japanese Steak. Celebrating at Kobe is always a blast and all the staff, especially the chefs are very entertaining. They always take selfies with the party guests.
You can see from the following group picture taken at Kobe how healthy Glenn looks today. He is the fellow in the back row, wearing the light pink shirt and cap. The lady sitting in the front row, wearing eyeglasses and red and denim jacket, is Jimmy, our son-in-law's grandmother, Marine, who is 92 years old, if I remember correctly. We are grateful that Jimmy, beside her in the lime green tee-shirt, was able to make it to his son's 18th birthday celebration. It is not easy for him, but he was determined to be there, in spite of his illness.
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| Young Glenn's Birthday Celebration at Kobe |
Last Friday was the birthday of our other grandson Stephen. He is fourteen. Here is a picture of Stephen when he was an infant:
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| Stephen |
Here is another photo at one year old:
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| Stephen |
This is a picture taken on his birthday at home, where he chose to celebrate with a group of youth from their church and some other friends and family. He wanted to have a birthday bonfire on their property to celebrate and so that is what we did. He is your typical clown of a teenager, birthday candles in mouth and all!
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| Stephen |
I enjoyed some quality time with my son-in-law Jimmy this week. We had lots of good talks and shared precious moments reminiscing and enjoying each other's company.
My sweet grand dog, Champ, also seems to be happy to see me when I walk in the door. He knows he and I will be taking some walks outside. This week our walks were mostly in the rain, since it has rained every day here. Because it was so cloudy outside, he did a lot of snoozing. I tried to sneak up on him while he was sleeping, but those eyes would open every time and he would "smile" for the camera. This is our Champ:
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| Our Grand dog Champ |
My grandson Glenn's hobby is raising a few chickens. He has been trying to hatch some chicks in an incubator and one finally cracked through its shell this past weekened. I asked Glenn what he had named the chick. Because the chick's legs are light in color, he thinks it is the chick of one of his "special" breeds. about which I know absolutely nothing. He says he hopes to sell it and that if he names it, he will become attached to it. Well, it is as cute as can be so I named it. Meet Peep:
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| Peep the Chick |
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| Peep |
A heat lamp is attached to the top of the big pot which is his/her temporary home. Peep's reflection can be seen on the inside of her pot and the little chick is interacting with it, peeping and pecking. You can see the reflection in this picture.
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| Peep |
I made sure Peep had plenty of fresh water and chick feed every day. That little fellow is growing and changing quickly. Those darker feathers you see on its wings are now much more pronounced and there are more of them. That change took place over a span of just a couple of days!
My friend Harriette and I spent a few hours just hanging out and having a late lunch at
Fatz Cafe. We then headed on over to get our hair styled at the nursing home. Yep, you read that right "the nursing home!" My daughter did my hair for years but her job as a school nurse keeps her so busy during the school year so I started having the cousin of my son-in-law, Hope, do it now. She is currently operating out of a shop located in one of the homes for the elderly here in Aiken. Hope is also an instructor at one of the beauty schools in our area. Does anyone else go to a nursing home to have your hair styled?
I can honestly say it is a unique experience and there is never a lack of entertainment. One sweet lady keeps coming by saying she is on her way to Hollywood and need to have her hair "poked." She is so cute and stops by at least twice every time we are in there. Others drop by, as well--over and over, There is never a dull moment! Hey, we have to see the humor in the circumstance. Who knows, it might be us in those shoes one day! Wouldn't that be a hoot!? We have decided that if we should forget that we know each other,i we can just keep becoming best friends over and over again every time we meet again! You never can tell, we might even make a trip to Hollywood every day!
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