My Medical Nightmares

Hello all,
It seems like I have been writing a lot lately, but it seems like life is handing me a lot to write about. But, today I will write about the medical nightmares I have been having these past few weeks. First, the most obvious one: my cyst removal. As most of you know, I had an emergency removal of a cyst on my ovary in which they removed the whole ovary as well as the cyst. I woke up on Monday morning with a pain in my side that just wouldn't go away, and it kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally, Mike FORCED me to go to the hospital, against my will, and after a CT scan, we found the cyst. It was a dermoid cyst, meaning that it had grown teeth and everything. Scary stuff! I am actually learning about this stuff in my Human Biology class, so it was like a little extra homework for me. Anyway, we decided to take it out, not at all thinking of what the medical bill might be afterward.

Well, yesterday I received the bill from the hospital in the mail. I was thinking it would be pretty big--somewhere in the neighborhood of $5, maybe even $10,000 if things got out of hand! I was so wrong. Folks, it is a whopping $25,438.11!! I about fell down and had a heart attack right then and there. What can I do about it now?! It's not like I can take my ovary back. So, here I am, bill in hand, wishing I had a million dollars right about now. Not to worry, I can always sell my other ovary for the money, right? I mean, it's not like I need it!

As for my other medical nightmare....well, this one isn't nearly as expensive. But, it will definitely mean huge changes in our home and a lot of patience on mine and Mike's parts. Dallin has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder with some Hyperactivity. I have NEVER noticed any hyperactivity on his part, but apparently some things he does like scream at the top of his lungs or get up and down from his seat fall into the hyperactive category. However, I have known for quite some time in my heart that he had ADD. I think now it's just nice to have an official diagnosis so we can start getting help on how to deal with it WITHOUT medication. That is one of the things Mike and I are very adamant about: NO MEDICATION. Luckily, Dallin's case is somewhat mild and he is by no means an unruly child. But, still, he does have the odd noises and the small tics that are associated with kids who have attention problems. He also has a tremendously hard time concentrating, and I know that this is something that will get better as he gets older. But, we are working on helping with that now so it won't be so difficult for him in the future.

We have decided as part of the treatment, that we are going to start going gluten-free for at least a month to see if it helps. Of course, we are doing other things like adjusting bedtimes and night routines, TV schedules, posting checklists for him, etc. But, the biggest change for our family is going to be the gluten-free diet. I would like to get to the point where everything in the house is Dallin-friendly. But, that means the whole family is pretty much going gluten-free too. I don't know if that would be more expensive than just buying him extra stuff on top of our regular groceries, but I will just have to perform some trial and error. It will be a journey, that's for sure.

Anyway, that's about it on my end. How is everyone else doing?