Colin's Diagnosis: Nephrotic Syndrome

For the last two weeks Colin has been looking puffy - his face, ankles, arms, and especially stomach are very bloated. Since we started weighing him a week ago, he has gained 6 pounds. The medical-type people call this edema. We initially thought this was allergies, however, after some blood and urine tests we learned that he has high levels of protein in his urine, high cholesterol, among other things. Shelley started with a visit to the Embassy doctor on Monday, a pediatric doctor on Tuesday, which led to several visits with a Nephrologist (kidney specialist) the last few days. The doctors diagnosed him with Nephrotic Syndrome - a condition where the kidneys are not filtering correctly. It is a serious condition, but in most cases can be managed with medication.

That's the bad news; the good news is that Colin has shown signs of improvement in the past 48 hours. The Embassy doctor initially advised us to go back to the U.S. to conduct tests, but after seeing his condition stabilize, they determined it was best for him to stay here in Jordan to continue his treatment. Needless to say, this week has been an emotional roller coaster. However, we are confident that Colin will be able to get good medical treatment here in Jordan.

The first week Colin woke up with a puffy face and body each day.

Not too different from pregnant women, Colin's belly button went from being an "inny" to an "outty." His abdomen is filled with fluids which are slowly returning to normal levels.

Home Delivery

One of the amazing things about living overseas is the many services that can be brought right to your door for a very minimal tip. In Mexico all of the restaurants had home delivery for no extra charge, just a small tip to the delivery boy. You could have fresh deli sandwiches made to your liking and delivered, even our favorite taco place delivered to us.

Here is Jordan they also have home delivery for all the restaurants. They have some great bakeries that will deliver, even those fancy cupcakes that are all the rage right now. Gaby and I have a hairdresser who comes to the house and cuts our hair. You would do the same if you lived here. The hair salons are not fun to go to because everyone smokes right there while they are getting their cut. Nasty!

Today I discovered the ultimate delivery service. I had to take Colin in to see a pediatric allergist. He and Alex are both having major allergies right now since it is spring. This doctor is Arab-American from Baltimore where he was one of the top allergists. My visit to him cost me a whopping $28.00 total (no that is not a co-pay, that is the price)! So he told me he wants to do some blood work on Colin and gives me the name of the best lab tech in Jordan. He tells me that if I don't want to make the trip to the lab that "Sami" will come to the house and draw the blood in the comfort of my own living room! I told him that wasn't necessary, we could go to the lab. So we walked the whole half a block to the nicest lab I have ever seen. I felt like I was walking into an upscale spa. They took my paperwork and asked me if Colin was fasting (it is around 2 pm and he is standing next to me with a lolly-pop in his mouth). I said no he is not fasting. They told me he has to be without food for 12 hours before they draw blood. I said ok, and I kindly asked to speak with "Sami". Guess who is coming to my house at 7:30 in the morning?? He, he. These are the reasons I LOVE living overseas~

Weekend Hike

Last weekend I took the three kids to the Ajlun natural reserve about an hour and a half north of Amman. We took a two-hour hike through the hills. The landscape in Jordan is very pretty in the spring. The hills are green and there are wildflowers of all colors.

Back in the Saddle Again

Well after almost ten years since I last taught school, I returned to the classroom this week! I am subbing for the special education teacher this week at the international school that Gaby and Andrew attend. I also accepted to teach there full-time next year. This week I am working with the elementary students. Next year I will probably work with grades four through eight (special ed.).

I was very nervous to go back to teaching, but it has been a great two days. You can’t beat the jobs at the international schools. You get small classes, good money, and very active parents. All the students I have worked with are all well behaved and they come to class and get busy on their work. It is so refreshing after the last teaching job I had. Ten years ago I was teaching at Rialto High School in California. It was a “suburban ghetto” of Los Angeles. Most of my students were in gangs and had zero respect for their teachers. We had gang fights, metal detectors, and random drug searches. It was one of those eye-opening years that you consider a great life experience and then you never do it again! I was very happy to start having kids and be done with teaching for a while.

Now I am fulfilling a dream to be teaching in the same school where my kids are students. One perk to the job is that they are going to let Colin attend the preschool for free, and my hours will be the same as his. It has been funny this week because Andrew keeps telling me I am not a teacher (I am just a mom, of course). Gaby is thrilled to have me right there, Andrew is not sure how he feels about it. I have more frequent reports on his behavior now! Gaby’s friends have been asking her what I am teaching at the school. She did not want to embarrass my students, who are some of her peers, so she told her friends I am teaching Arabic! I laughed at that. I can barely communicate in Arabic, let alone teach it! But her friends all believed her, and I thought it was sweet she did not want to draw attention to anyone who is in special ed.

So Colin is being shuffled around between friends this week. Thank goodness I had a lot of people who owed my babysitting. I have practically been running a daycare lately! So it is actually more relaxing to go to the school than to stay home. I have enjoyed no one whining at me this week, until I get home that is. I teach preschool at my house next week, so I’ll enjoy this week while it lasts. J

Easter Weekend

Well we had a very relaxing Easter. We follow the Muslim schedule here so we go to church on their Sabbath, which is Friday. So this was the first time we have ever gone to church on Good Friday. It was quite special to remember the Lord’s atonement and crucifixion on the actual day he died. It was a really neat meeting and then I taught a class to the young women about the last week of the Savior’s life. I had 12 Easter eggs each containing an item that symbolized an event in his last week. They loved it.

Then on Sunday, which is usually the first day of our work/school week, we had the day off. We went to an Easter egg hunt at the church and then spent the afternoon at the Embassy pool. The pool season just started and we could not be happier. The weather is not too warm yet, but everyone enjoyed a quick dip!

The kids in their Easter clothes. I was very surprised Alex did not say anything about Colin's pants. He usually won't agree to the "fruity" outfits I pick. I got these on clearance a few years ago. I asked Alex if he could believe these pants were only $1.00! Alex replied, "yes!"

Some of the youth at church. Gaby would rather be with the teenagers than the girls her age!

Colin with the Ambassador's wife at the Embassy Easter egg hunt. She is also his primary teacher at church. He sure loves her.

Another "cute" outfit for Colin!

I make this Easter cake every year. Super easy and the kids love it. It is suppose to be grass with Easter eggs if you cannot tell!

80’s Flashback

So I turned 36 this weekend. Alex threw me a surprise 80’s birthday party! It was so fun. The best part was that he could not stand me nagging him about wanting to make plans for my birthday, so he caved and told me about the party a day before! It was fantastic because I was able to clean the house, get a haircut, and be ready to receive guests ;)

We had eight couples over for dinner and then we played 80’s trivia and 80’s Pictionary. Great times. Usually birthdays can be a bit of a bummer when you are away from family in a new place, but this was great. Alex had not planned a surprise party for me for about ten years. He noticed it was very advantageous since he did not need to buy me anything, everyone brought little presents and I was thrilled. I will remind him of this next year!

Here is one of our favorite things in Jordan. They put actual fireworks on their cakes! They are a cross between a Roman Candle and a sparkler. You light them and they shoot up about two feet high for around a minute. The only downside is that there is no candle to blow out at the end of the singing. But beside that they are great. Something interesting they do here is to cut the first piece of cake with the knife upside down. You make a wish while you cut the cake.Then the knife is turned right side up to cut the remainder of the cake. Fun, huh?

Thanks to Alex for a wonderful night!!!

Colin was very helpful in helping to finish off the last of the cake.

This is the face he made at me when I told him he needed to surrender the cake box because there was not a crumb left! He disagreed and just kept licking the box! Our neighbors have nicknamed him "Foodie", wonder why?