On the Mend. . . . Hopefully

Welcome to Brooks hospital.  Just kidding.  That is not even funny although it has felt like a hospital lately.  So, where to begin.  What seems like "A long, long time ago (like back in November 2012), in a land far away, everything was perfect.  Juliana was happy and healthy and best of all doing great in school.  Staying awake all day and really interacting with classmates and teachers.  Then suddenly, illness struck the Brooks' House.  Juliana started first in mid December with a violent stomach bug.  Lots of explosions and crying.  The next week, Olivia is stricken with the same violent stomach bug.  Both girls recover just in time for Christmas.  We have about 3 great days and then . . . . . . . you guessed it - Virus.  They both come down with a cough the same night, which is followed by 6 days of very high fevers and round the clock motrin/tylenol cocktail.  After about a week and a half, the fever finally subsides and but they are just not themselves.  So I decide to pull them both out of school and take them to the doctor.  Guess what, Olivia has an ear infection and Juliana has pneumonia.  So we go on crazy antibiotics that tear up their stomachs, but finally things are looking clearer. Oh but did I forget to mention that Juliana's 6 year molars are also coming in and she has always had the worst time when teeth come in.  These molars have now been "coming in for about two months and still have not broken through, not in the least bit.  They are just swollen and painful. So, just to stir things up a bit we decide to take her off Miralax.  She has been on this drug for four years now for chronic constipation.  I went to a natural foods store, picked up an awesome probiotic, some hemp powder for fiber, tons of fruits and vegetables for juicing.  We were determined to make this work.  I mean it would be humanly impossible to take in all of the above mentioned digestive interventions and not go, right?  WRONG!  After about a week and half of this we had to call it quits.  I'll spare you the gory details but lets just say she was in so much pain and we had to resort to drastic measures for relief eventually resulting in going back on the Miralax.  Oh and did I forget to mention that she had several pretty bad seizures in the last couple of months (no surprise given what she's been through.  So we are "back on track" with her digestive system, no more colds, viruses or coughs, but things can't be that simple.  Juliana is just still not herself.  She is back to being tired, lethargic and just completely not interested in being at school.  We are back to her sleeping most of the day away and I'm really missing out on that amazing giggle of hers.     So, this is not a pity party.  I know, I have learned that - This too shall pass.  We will eventually figure this thing out, and things will "normalize" for awhile at least until the next big thing hits.  But until then - prayers please;)