Possible direction for son's illness...finally

So my son's endoscope and sigmoidoscopy tests ended up showing that his stomache and his colon are not contracting like they are supposed to. Normally they contract about 3 times a minute. I'm not sure how much his is contracting, but the doctor said they just kind of lay there like a bag. I will be able to talk to him more on Tuesday when the biopsy results are ready. They went ahead and took biopsys..but as far as how his stomach and colon looked..it all appeared okay so no sign of cancer or tumors or inflamatory diseases like chrones.

On Sept 26th he has an appointment to get a stomache emptying test. I guess this will verify what the doc thinks it is and that is 'gastroparesis' Evidentally it's not a commonly known condition and it needs a lot more funding to study it. Many people go undiagnosed for years and suffer immensly from it. It happens mostly to people who have diabetes. I'm not sure if it's the disease or the drugs they are on that causes it..but it ruins the vagus nerve. That's a nerve in the neck that goes down to the stomach and tells the stomach to contract. People with anorexia get it too or the nerve can get damaged from a surgery. It can also come from having a bad virus. Some just get it and they dont' know why.

I am thinking my son got it from 1st a stomach virus he caught in April. Then about a week after that I cooked a crockpot full of raw pinto beans. I slow soaked them over night, then slow cooked them. I was not aware that all raw beans have a toxin called Phytohaemagglutinin and you MUST boil them for at least 10 min at some point. If you don't you get very sick. It lasts only about 12 hours..nausea and diarreah. my husband and I did not get the nausea but my kid who always gets everything 10 fold..got both so bad. He just never got better after that. His poor tummy got a big whammo twice in a row. I'm hoping that is the reason he has this gastroparesis, because people who get it from a virus usually get over it in a couple of months. It's been about 5 though for my son. When I look at his 17 years of life though, he's always had tummy trouble. Projectile vomiting as a baby and every single time he was sick, no matter if just a cold..he ended up throwing up. Every morning growing up...if he didn't eat in time, he would say "mommy I have morning sickness!" and I would have to rush and grab him some cereal or even a cookie..whatever so he would not end up over the toilet gagging. He only threw up once from it..but came close a number of times. I'm wondering if there was a start to this all way back then.

But at least we have a direction to go in now and at least I can rule out stomach cancer. I'm not very happy with the diet he has to eat though. It goes against everything I've ever learned about eating healthy..losts of fruits and vegies and fiber. He's to have no fiber at all, they want him to have white bread and saltine crackers. Everythign needs to be blended, meats blended (yuck!) any vegies or fuits blended or juiced. No salads :( Hopefully he can get to a maintanence part of the diet where he can eat a little more...like 2 oz of baked chicken or fish..but some people can never get to that stage. He has to eat small amounts just more times a day (6 to 8). It's super hard to get him to eat that many times with the nausea. The anti nausea drug is helping now..but I don't want him to stay on that forever. Drugs always have side effects :\ He's probably lost 15 to 20 pounds..and was very skinny already. For sure he's lost 10 in the last 2 months. He's starting to look malnurished..ribs showing in back..spine sticking out far when he leans over..small arms. It doesn't take much imagination to picture him as an anorexic.

So I'm busy learning all I can about this and trying to learn recipes. If anyone knows about this condition, has any recipe ideas..esp ones that are more natural..please let me know. On Tues I've got him going to a somatic excersize instructor that is here from India teaching a class of instructors (my mom, a massage therapist, is attending) this teaches you to wake up muscles that your body has forgotten about and turned off. 100 bucks for an hour..but I've got to take advantage of him being here. Then on Wednesday I'm taking him to an acupuncturist (Kaiser covers most of it..yay!) because I read that acupuncture has had success with helping to get more enzymes down into the tummy to help digest for people with this condition. Cameron is not very happy about this one as he hates needles. I told him acupuncture does not hurt..but he does not care. He's been going to a Nutri Energetics practitioner and is on Kangen water.

I'm just so upset that he was just starting to get on with his life. He was going to take his test for his diploma (we homeschooled and did Hawaii's required 40 hours of tutoring so that his GED test completion would give him not the reg GED but a diploma certificate) and he was getting ready to get his permit. We just got him a car too...someone we knew just wanted to get rid of one that needed somethign simple to fix so his dad fixed it up for him. Some of his friends just graduated and he'd been spending time going places with them and enjoying a little more freedom and time away from having to do schooling. So he was pretty excited about his life moving along and then whammo. Now he has not much quality of life. Everyday is just about fighting to get food down him and hoping he will gain some weight.

Heres my guy a little healthier in 2006



and here is at 15 months when we first moved to Maui..



If this is what he is going to have to live with I'm definitely going to need a juicer! Anyone has any suggestions for a good one let me know. My credit card is soon to start getting a work out..Our insurance only pays 1/2 of all these tests..so the med bills are piling up..plus special foods and other alternative health care visits I've done. But I think a good juicer is what we need...somethign that will allow more nutrients in and let him have raw foods again.

So now I've got to get my creative side back and make more jewelry. Thanks to all my wonderful customers, I've been able to pay for a most of Cameron's care as hubby's work has been slow because of the economy. But no one can buy my jewelry if I'm not making it! I actually got a necklace photographed this evening that I made a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully I will get that priced and up soon.

sorry for the long post..but many of you asked for an update and I don't get much time at the computer lately..so I gave you a huge update. Thank you for all your notes and emails and well wishes..I REALLY appreciate it! I'm sorry if I have not been able to visit your blogs much lately. I hope to get this diet situation under control so I am not spending so much time in the kitchen experimenting. I'm hoping we can get him on a routine that works for both of us.

Thanks again for all your kindness!

Closing up shop for a bit..

I will be putting both of my shops at RubyLane and Etsy on vacation until Saturday the 30th. It's possible I will open up on the 29th but I can't be sure just yet.

We will be heading over to Oahu so that my son can get some medical tests done that we can't get done soon enough here. The doc that performs them is on vacation. My son has been ill since April dealing with tummy problems. He's had tons of lab work done and nothing shows up. His tests (colonoscopy and endoscopy? the one down the throat) were scheduled for the 26th of September but he's getting sicker and now is not able to hold food down without the help of an anti-nausea drug. He's also lost 9pounds in the last two months. (he's 17)

So his doc got our Kaiser insurance to pay for him and one parent(me!) to go to Oahu for the tests. We used our miles and thankfully got my husband on the same flights because I am a huge baby and I don't think I could handle this all on my own. Honolulu is a big busy place..like L.A. I'm not used to it and the huge airport. Plus you could say I'm just a little bit stressed.

Thankfully they have a shuttle that will take us right to the hospital and back again. But they told us that they aren't positive they are gonna let him come home that night..depends what they find and all. I'm scared for him...and scared to find out bad news..but can't wait to be told that it's not any bad news like cancer or something.

Will post the results when we get them.

More Thoughtfulness..

Saturday my blog received two more awards from a very sweet and fun spirited colleague/friend. Her energy exudes through her writing and it's hard to not smile when you read her posts. Recently her family has been hit by hard times, her hubby, like has happened to so many in this economy, was layed off. Somehow thing always seem to work out, so I'm sure they will be taken care of.

Along with being a caring wife and mother and having a secular job, she is also a talented beader and carries her beautiful creations in her etsy shop Golden Flower Creations. I encourage you to take a look at her work..she has some beautiful pieces.

Thank you Maricris for my awards!




These awards are to be passed on and each has their own instructions. I will be doing this very soon. Right now real life is calling my name and my name is 'mommy' lol!

Having Fun on Fling it Girl!

I thought that today I would share this super cool new social bookmarking place I found called Fling it Girl..only it's more of a bookmarking spot for the online social shopping genre. Kind of like a cross between Kirtsy (<--formerly known as 'skirt'> and Stylehive.

Kary from Fling it Girl left me a message on my poor neglected Stylehive account (click there if you want to follow me on stylehive) inviting me to try it out and suggested I promote my jewelry there. I'm so glad I decided to check my messages at Stylehive that day!

Fling it Girl is super quick and easy to use and looks like great place to check out other products. I've already found this awesome mens diaper bag called the diaper dude. I know my friend who just had a baby is totally going to want this..she was just talking about finding something her husband would carry on his days watching the new kiddo in thier life. He's totally into the Harley Davidson colors even painted his Bronco in them..so with the orange stitching on the charcoal fabric..I think it's a winner!

middfitzinc.com

I really like the simplicity of Fling it Girl. While Stylehive is a totally awesome place..it's a bit overwhelming for me with its major high fashion fun to look at but unatainable goods. With Fling it Girl I was able to get right in there and have some fun within minutes as well as find some items I'm actually interested in. And I like that it's focusing on shopping so I'm not weeding through news articles like on other bookmarking sites. It has different shopping catagories too so you can find ideas on specific things you are looking for. The catagories are fashion, beauty, eco, lifestyle, tech, home, active, offbeat and guy stuff.

I mosied (mosyed..how do you spell past tense of mosy? is mosy a real word?) on over to Fling it Girl today and saw that one of my posted bookmarks was on the front page today so it made a top fling...cool! I had to take a screenshot of course :)



here is the 411 on Fling it Girl taken from the 'how it works' link:

411: Fling it Girl works likes this, you go to your favorite websites and pick a product, store or designer you like, click 'submit yours' and insert the URL address or for an easier way place our Fling it Girl Bookmarklet in your browser's tool bar so you can Fling as you check out sites. Write a few sentences about your selection, upload a picture and submit it for the rest of the community to see. So whether you pick a cool product you come across or if you have a tie to a product you would like to promote, this site will give your Fling Worthy finds exposure. It will also provide useful feedback through the voting system and comments. We will ultimately see what the community believes to be the best on the web.

To make it even more fun..they also have giveaways.

It's only a month old and looks like it's catching on already with 11 pages of 'flings'. So go on over and check it out if you are interested in promoting your own special product or if you want some help with gift ideas. Like these cool recycled wine bottle platters only 15 bucks!


www.olivebarn.com

And if you want to check out my 'flings' so far please do..and vote for them as well :) (once there just click the little 'fling it' button to the left of the bookmarks)

Fling One
Fling Two
Fling Three


Mahalo! :D

Another Close Encounter

We had another close encounter besides the Koi fish while staying at the Grand Wailea. It was our last day, we were done swimming and heading out to our car for our hour drive back home. This egret landed on some bushes along the walkway and did not move as we stopped and watched. I actually had time to get my camera out and snap some pics.



At first I was not as close...so I took that shot and we watched for a while. But then we needed to get going so we kept walking and the bird didn't move..infact he was walking closer towards me as he walked along the top of the bushes. So I stopped right in front of him and took a few more shots. He looked at me....


then turned...




and flew away...



It was so cool! A fun note to end our little mini vacation on.

My Little Koi Fish Friend at the Grand Wailea

I have more pictures that I wanted to share from our stay at the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel and Spa

This was taken on the quiet side of the hotel near the self parking. My son and I were waiting for hubby to get back from parking our car since we checked out but were still allowed to enjoy the hotels amazing pools for the day.

There is a Koi pond that runs along the walk way here as well as other parts of the hotel. Its so beautiful with the orchids lining it.



I took the opportunity to have a little Koi fish photoshoot while waiting for my husband.



And this one fish seemed to like to be photographed..he kept swimming closer to me.
Hi Mr. Koi fish!






Once many years ago I had to spend a 4 hour layover in Honolulu airport. My now 17 year old son was only 2. We went down to the center area where they have a beautiful Japanese garden and Koi fish. There was a peach colored Koi that followed us to all edges of that pond..and we would slap the pond water when we went to another side and that fish would swim on over like a dolphin to be right by us and it wanted to be pet! My son was giggling so much. That made our 4 hour layover much more enjoyable. I always wanted to go back there and see that fish again..but now it's been too long, I can't imagine that he'd still be alive. Then again, I'm not sure how long Koi live.

A Collection of Flip Flop Pendants

I purchased these sweet little flip flop pendants (we call them 'slippahs') a few years ago from a supplier who visits my island. (He lives on Oahu)I only used a few of them..and then sadly misplaced them. I got a couple more back from sister when she turned in her bead stash as she's not beading anymore right now and only doing her photography. So when I made a necklace out of one my Wholesale gal, Marina, saw it and went nuts over it. She's the one with the shop B-Side the Sea in Poole England where it's the beachy scene like here on Maui. She asked for more..but at the time I only had one more to make. Then low and behold I was looking for some beads to give to my step nieces in California and I found a package with 5 more! She wanted them all! So none for the shop right now...but I will try and get more from my supplier when he comes back at the end of the year.

Here is a pic of the little slippah necklaces that are on their way to the UK..

aren't they cute?

The Quest for Yellow Pearls

My recent experience with a lovely beach bride customer reminded me of how I really need to grab unusual pearl colors when I see them available. Just get them because they are there, not because I neccesarily like them or need them..or even think I will ever need them..because you just never know what you will come across in this business.

Pearls are especially difficult at times to get in certain colors. The most common seems to be white and peacock. But once you get into other colors you never know whats available so it's best to stock up. Also it's basically a one time shot. Pearls are dyed in lots..so the next lot can turn out completely different. So get what you need and even more if you can when you find something available.

Now I never thought much about yellow pearls, I'm not a yellow person..as in it looks really bad on me so I don't think of this sweet little color much. But I love yellow sunflowers, yellow chicks, yellow houses are cool..now yellow cars - not so much..but yellow pearls..I found out that they are beautiful!

Here is the dress I needed to find yellow pearls to match this dress from David's Bridal. This is stlye number F12899 incase you see this and are intersted. (Doesn't the model look like Jan, Michaels X on The Office?)



So in my search I could not find any yellow coin pearls which was the first choice because my customer wanted to copy some earrings that I carry in my shop only in her colors. We only had a couple of choices..but I purchased both just to have them in stock after I saw how it's a very rare color. Thankfully they were a yellow that blends well with the dress..which looks like it's a bit darker yellow.

Here are the earrings..I took pictures of them with different backgrounds to show the color changes of the Aurora Borialis Swarovski Crystals. They, while being a clear crystal color, actually pick up a lot of yellow color which is a bonus because the yellow pearls look very light on their own and around darker backgrouns. You can see though, how they really truly are a true yellow when they are on the white and next to a bunch of other of the same pearls.





And here are the 6 pairs she ordered ready to go. The quality and light of this photo isn't the best as I was packing it up at night and needed to get it out in a hurry. This bride was so calm and cool about it all and she had less then a month to get this all together. I prefer to have a month to work with at least when dealing with a special order where I have to order supplies..esp from different places. But we went for it and got them out to her ASAP on a Saturday when I don't usually ship/work.



My sweet little yellow pearls are so shimmery and happy and I can't wait to figure out what else to use them in ;)

Time to Pass it on....

Well it's time for me to pass on my lovely award that I got from Maricristo very 5 deserving bloggers.




Here are the rules:

Do you know any bloggers that kick ass? Maybe they've got incredible, original content. Or they're overflowing with creativity. Is it someone that helps you become a better blogger? Or a bloggy friend you know you can count on? Or maybe it's someone who simply inspires you to be a better person... or someone else who sends you to the floor, laughing your ass off. Whatever the reason may be, I'm sure you know at least a couple of bloggers that kick ass. Well... why not tell 'em so?

LOVE ON 'EM

Choose 5 bloggers that you feel are "Kick Ass Bloggers"
Let 'em know in your post or via email, twitter or blog comments that they've received an award . Share the love and link back to both the person who awarded you and back to www.mammadawg.com . Hop on back to the Kick Ass Blogger Club HQ to sign Mr. Linky then pass it on!

Here are my Top picks in no particular order:

Marjorie @ Marjories Cracked Plate Jewelry - You get this award because I admire the energy you put into doing what you love (making beautiful jewelry) and getting it out there for others to enjoy. I love your creativity and talent but most of all your friendship and willingness to work along with and help others who make jewelry. I love too what your jewelry pieces can mean for some, how you can hold onto something of sentimental value that you thought was lost.

Robyn @ The Daily Jewel - You get this award because you not only on this blog, but on others as well, open our eyes to the amazing creativity of jewlery artists. Your writing is superb and articles are very enjoyable and informative. The time you spend on your Tuscon Gem Show Live" blog is so helpful to so many looking to go there for their first time. As a matter of fact you have so many informative, helpful and fun blogs it's hard to choose which one to award this to. So Robyn put this award on the one that is your favorite or that you would most like to get this award on lol! Also you are SUPER helpful on our beading group, so much that I have even mistaken you for a moderator once! (even though I'm a mod myself there!)So I'm sure members always do lol! And you are just the nicest person I have met in a long time..you spoil me! (BIG HUG!)

Kuanyin @ Wailea Daily Photo - You get this award because I love your shots of the island and even though I live here as well, it's nice to see it through someone elses eyes. Also I get to see the other side of the island that I'm rarely on!

Christina @ This Girl Beads - You get this award because you were one of the first most loyal commenters on my blog. It was really encouraging for me to see your comments so often. I also love how you feature really cool stuff from amazing etsy crafsters and enjoy all your cool finds when you go thrift shopping. You've got the best taste!

Clara @ The 5 C Family" - You get this award because I'm so glad you came to visit my blog and introduced yourself. I've had so much fun getting to know you and admire following your tales of raising little ones (it's been a while for me since my son is 17) Also I know you love to make jewelry (beautiful jewelry!) and don't have as much time for it right now, but you are doing whats most important at this point in your life..and I admire that so much because I know how frustrating that can be at times.

Thanks to www.mammadawg.com for creating this award!

Jonara Blu Maui - Video

I just put this video together this morning...hoping to make a little introduction type of thing. I get so tongue tied and could not manage to say everything even just once with out a mistake..but oh well..thats just me lol!

My Blog Won and Award!

The super cool Maricris (isn't that the cutest name?) of Zen Ventures awarded me this today:



and she had this to say:

You get this award because I liked you from the first time I found your blog. You have that sweetness and caring persona about you and has been very helpful to me with my jewelry questions. Most of all, I admire your jewelries a lot!

What a nice thing to say..makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
Mahalo Nui Loa Maricris!

Stay tuned to see who I pass the award on to!

Aloha Flower Beaded Bracelet

Wow..it's been almost a week! Sorry I've been away from posting..I was a bit under the weather this week as well as working on a wholesale order for B-Side the Sea. Most of my newly made items have gone to her, however, here is a new item she hasn't snagged quite yet..



I was so excited to get the little Hill Tribe silver flower beads you see here..I thought they would look so happy with all the brightly colored stones.

And here are some earrings to match..

6 Things about me

Wow! It's hard to believe in all my years of blogging I've never been tagged before...but now thanks to Clara at Mama C, I've finally been tagged!

Here are the rules:
1) Link to the person who tagged you
2) Post the rules on your blog (this is what you are now reading)
3) Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4) Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them
5) Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
6) Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

6 Random Things About Me:

1. I love sci fi. Sat on my dads lap as a baby watching the old Star Trek shows with him and I guess it stuck.

2. I'm actually a "Valley Girl" born in San Fernando Valley, CA. Moved a lot after that though. We moved to Maui 16 years ago.

3. Superman is my hero :)

4. I started beading when I was 8 years old. One of my favorite things to do with my beads was to pour my seed bead mix into the long lime green shag carpet in my room and lay there with the radio playing as I used a beading needle to 'hunt' for the lost beads. My brother soon got the fever too and would join me in my strange little game. I would get so upset when my mom came in and vacuumed!

5. I cut my own hair as well as my son and husbands hair.

6. I loved to fish and camp on the mainland as a teen. I miss it very much.

Not sure how interesting that was..but the instructions said "random", so those were some random odd facts about moi ;-)


I am tagging:
Tina at Belle Adorn
My sis in law Kim at Simplicity
My sis Kim (yes two Kims!)at Aihara Visuals
Elayne at ChezChani Handmade Jewelry
Marjorie at Marjorie's Cracked Plate Jewelry
Sarah at Wake up and Live

I know we all have busy lives, so no pressure to do this. This is just for fun but it's also a good way for your blog visitors to get to know just a little more about you :)

Have fun!

Starfish Beach Wedding Necklace

And elegant yet beachy necklace idea for your seaside wedding...





High quality ivory white pearls hand wire wrapped with sterling silver wire to sterling silver 'krinkle' chain. A larger ivory white pearl with a sterling silver starfish dangles at center stage.

72.00

Available at Jonara Blu Maui soon!