Medical Mysteries

Medical Mysteries

08.3.2010

Last summer, Meridian had a persistent dry cough. I chalked it up to allergies - who doesn't have allergies in this area! But after several weeks, and several other parents constantly asking her if she was okay, I thought I'd maybe better get her seen. Long story short, ...she had pneumonia. But when the pneumonia was all cleared up and the cough persisted, along with a complaint from Meridian about a "bubble" in the back of her throat, I persisted. We did asthma testing (the blow test and pulse-ox), but her breathing was good. The doctor treated with athsma meds (singulair) anyway to see if she was responsive. She wasn't. She tried a steroid to see if there was maybe just some unseen inflammation bothering her throat. We did allergy testing, and she came up only allergic to dust. That being all we could point to, we went at it aggressively: packed away all her stuffed animals, encaused her mattresses and pillows in allergenic coverings, removed her ceiling fan, got her a small vaccuum for her own room, and had the air conditioning unit cleaned. By then it was fall. The cough went away. Success.

Until this June when it came back, same as ever, only this time accompanied by strange breathing: several (10?) deep breaths in a row, then normal breathing, repeated 2-3 times an hour. The timing seems seasonal to me. But again, allergy testing said no hay fever, and allergy medicines don't seem to have an impact. So, back to the doctor. Again we tried athsma meds (this time albuterol, together with a steroid for inflammation), again with no luck. We went in yesterday for a follow-up, and the doctor decided to do a chest and neck xray, order an upper gastrointestinal series, and schedule an appt with the pulmonologist to explore more deeply. The UGI is tomorrow morning. Meridian will have to skip breakfast (which she will NOT be happy about) and then drink the barium solution and have an xray. This will tell us if she has reflux, which is the doctor's suspicion. I don't think she has reflux. We're talking about a person who even as an infant never spit up, who has thrown up exactly three times in her life, and who never has a complaint eating. Well, except that she doesn't like eggplant. Still, I'm doing the UGI because I don't think the doctor can move on in her thinking until she's ruled it out.

Today, the doctor called back with the results of yesterday's xrays: lungs are crystal clear (this is great news, and a relief to me), but neck shows moderately enlarged adenoids and tonsils. This could cause some feeling of constriction, and be "the bubble" she's trying to move. We're going to continue with the UGI, as planned, but also schedule a consultation with and ENT. Hopefully we're getting closer to an answer because there's nothing that makes you want to rush to the emergency room like hearing your precious child say, "Mommy, I'm having trouble breathing." Feel free to share your thoughts and experiences - I want to get this thing figured out once and for all.

In My Mind

08.2.2010

I keep coming back to a little sparkling moment in the car a few weeks ago. I was driving, and Meridian was sitting in her seat looking through a book. Suddenly, she burst out, "Mommy, guess what!" I offered the automatic "what" and she responded, "I just read this whole page in my mind. I didn't even need to say the words out loud. I just said them in my mind. Can you believe it?!"

The thing I like best about it is that I never set silent reading as a goal, never spoke to her about it as an ambition, or even a possibility. It gives me such pleasure to see her so proud of her accomplishment. But even beyond that, I'm pleased to see her measuring her own progress, setting her own internal goals, and celebrating her triumphs. She becomes more and more independent every day!

Everyday Miracles

07.28.2010

Meridian's musing while in the car yesterday: "The miracle is: once you make a friend that makes all the worries go away."

Birth of a Bee

06.20.2010

Today's hive check marks the end of the fourth week since their installation. During today's hive checkup, we intend to see whether they have populated about 70% of the frames with honeycomb. If they have, we'll be ready to add a second deep (hive box) to the hive for them to begin populating. Also, we noted the first larvae about a week after installation, so we expect that some of those will have metamophosed into adult bees, and we intend to look for evidence of that. Beyond that, it's always fun to spot the queen, and see the new little larvae-filled cells.

David examined a full frame while Meridian looks on.

As he slides it back in place, you can see the white-capped cells at the top which are filled with honey, and the blackish cells in the center which have been vacated by adult bees, and then the smaller cluster of brownish-capped cells in the lower left region, which has bees still growing inside.

Meridian is excited to get a turn using the hive tool to break apart the frames, glued together at the edges with propolis (bee glue).

Another frame filled with stored honey at the top, capped larvae in the center, and uncapped larvae just below those.

David inspects another frame that previously held larvae.

Here's a flat view that shows many of the different types of cells. Far left, capped in white - these are stored honey cells. Left, soft of beigy-yellow capped cells - these are bees in the pupa stage, metamorphosing into adult bees. Center, black uncapped cells - these are cells from which adult bees have emerged. Center-right, darker grayish capped cells - these are cells from which adult bees will emerge soon.

And now a real treat! Not only did we find evidence of birthed adult bees, but we actually got to witness one emerging from its cell! Here, just its antennae and face are visitble in the cell. See if you can spot her, and then click the image to see the correct answer.

Partially hidden here behind another bee's wing, if you look closely, you can spot the head emerging from its honeycomb cell. Click the image if you need help spotting her.

The bee hunches forward as she pulls herself free. The bees nearby are nurse bees, the youngest of the colony, charged with caring for the unborn brood. Our newest bee will become a nurse bee as soon as she's born. Click the image if you need help spotting her.

Her head and thorax are now free, and she works to free her abdomen. Click the image if you need help spotting her.

Here you can see her from the side, abdomen partly freed. She's sorta light yellow and fuzzy-cruddy looking. I'm not sure if this is a kind of baby fuzz that will disappear in a few days, or if this is bits of honey and honeycomb sticking to her. Click the image if you need help spotting her.

Nearly free! Click the image if you need help spotting her.

All but out, and a nurse bee comes over to clean her up. Click the image if you need help spotting her.

Meridian holds a bee.

My nieces were in town last weekend, and got to observe and participate in last week's hive check, so I wanted to put up a few pictures of them enjoying the magic of the hive.

Kaitlynn tries to entice a bee to crawl on her with a finger dipped in sugar water.

And she succeeds!

Meridian ties Kaitlynn's bee helmet in place behind her, as Kaitlynn grins, her entusiasm spilling over.

Kaitlynn is all dudded up in her bee keeper suit and helmet, and ready for some hive action.

Shelby, while not at all scared, is miles less excited about this project. She poses for a quick snap in her get-up anyway, and then goes off to play instead.

David holds out a frame of bees for Kaitlynn to inspect, while Uncle Chris looks on.

The two girls study the frame as Meridian explains what to look for, happy in her role as teacher.

David holds up a frame for inspection, and we see lots of capped cells indicating pupa.

once again we can see the luttle u-turn larvae.

David gives Kaitlynn an opportunity to lift out a frame, and she takes her job very seriously. Good little scientist!

She delicately lifts out a frame.

The frame she's lifting is empty - the bees have not yet begun to build out comb on it. These frames are significantly lighter than the filled frames. That honey is heavier than you'd think. Next time we'll let her try to lift one that has some weight to it.

Just Ducky

06.15.2010

Meridian just finished her first year of "real ballet," as she called it at the beginning of the year. The director of her dance school writes their recital performance as a ballet interpretation of a classic children's novel. This year's show was The Wizard of Oohs and Oz. Meridian's class were the ducks on Uncle Henry's farm. She did three numbers, and as a completely objective observer I can report that she was super adorable in all three. She walked off the stage each time with her head poised with pride, and David and I mirrored that pride from our seats.

Talking with Meridian after her performance was interesting. She has strong opinions, and had some certain issues with the choreography and with the liberties taken with the story. Among these, she was quite unsatisfied to be a duck, noting that there are no ducks mentioned in the original book and that ducks bear no resemblance whatever to ballerinas. Those complaints aside, she did love the attention of the audience and being onstage. Surprisingly, this was not enough to make her want to dance again next year. She's decided she'd like to try gymnastics instead. Or maybe soccer. She can't decide which she wants more: leotards or cleats. You see for her, it's not at all about what she'll learn to do, but entirely about what interesting uniforms can be added to her repretoire.

Take Me Out To The Fair

06.11.2010

Meridian's birthday was at the end of May, but when we talked about how she might celebrate her birthday this year, one possibility stuck out as the sure-fire winner: go to the carnival!! That meant waiting until June when the carnival would be in town. We gathered with friends and family for ice cream cake at Mt. Trashmore, where we sang Happy Birthday to Cai and Meridian (celebrating their birthday together and bringing back memories of that long ago 1st birthday which they also celebrated together). Then the kids attacked the carnival with a level of enthusiasm that only small children could possibly muster on a 95º day. The parents were troopers, as they dropped sweat, and tried to chase older children one way while younger siblings begged to go to rides they were tall enough for. But somehow, we finagled it all, passing kids back and forth between adults from ride to ride, and managing to maintain some semblance of order. The sun went down after a couple of hours, and we continued our fun well past bedtime. Meridian had the time of her life. A sneak peek below, and the rest are in the 6 Year Gallery.

Meridian and Cai blow out their birthday candles.

Meridian excitedly shows off one of her gifts. Thanks Millie and Blaise!!

Cai carefully reads a card while friends and family look on.

Going down the SUPER Slide!

A ride on the carousel.

7th Birthday Party Resolutions: 1) I will pose for a shot with Meridian and David. 2) I will get all of the attendees to pose together for one big group shot.

A Royal Visit

06.01.2010

The bees have been in the five for ten days now. During that time, they've gotten one sugar water refill, and been otherwise undisturbed. Yesterday, we conducted our first hive check-up. We needed to ensure that the bees were beginning to build out honeycomb, to remove the queen bee's little wooden box, and to add the last frame to the hive. Here it is again in pictures:

You can see all the bees clustered around the entrance to the hive as David begins to apply smoke. This seems normal to us so far; there is always a little group of 5-15 bees gathered there as others come and go.

David uses the smoker (filled with dried leaves, sticks, and grass) to calm the bees. The smoke makes them less aggressive.

The lid has been taken off the hive now. This box currently holds the sugar water tray, and David applies smoke to the small openings at the bottom of the box where the bees emerge to access the sugar water.

The box deep (that's what that box is called, based on its size) has been removed along with the sugar water tray. The bees mill around inside.

The space in the center where you see the white honeycomb is the empty space where the queen's box was. The box took up the space where another frame would usually sit. The bees are all about space, and know that this space is too wide, so they fill it with this white honeycomb. They've been awfully productive in ten days time, and now we see first-hand where we get the phrase "busy bees".

David applies smoke into the hive. We hear that as we progress we'll become more confident not using any smoke at all, but as first timers, smoking every iota of the hive seemed prudent. Since David experienced the first bee sting (of his life, incidentally) earlier this week when he accidentally crushed a bee in his hand, he was none too eager to enjoy that treat again. Note the shoes and the bee helmet this time.

Here is a view from above, and a better view to show the spaces between the frames, which is what the bees are comfortable with, as opposed to the space in the center where they've constructed the burr-comb (the name for honeycomb that's not attached to a frame). You can see little bits of this floating comb have been glued to the adjacent frames using wax.

David removes one of the frames from the edge of the box to make room to slide the remaining frames around for a better look. We hope to see the honeycomb development on some of the trays and to catch a glimpse of the queen.

Looking at this frame, we don't see any sign of honeycomb development.

This second frame does show honeycomb development. You can see in the upper right-hand corner, there's not any, and then a gradual hill climbs down toward the lower left.

A view of what the hive looks like with a couple of the trays out. You can see the bees just clinging to the frames, doing their jobs.

David scrapes the wax from the next frame, while Meridian excitedly awaits the chance to use the frame grip to lift a frame out.

Meridian, her father's child, is excited about a gadget. This is the frame grip, and as we found, less helpful than it would appear. Meridian uses it to grip the frame, but finds it it too heavy to lift out. These frames are surprisingly heavy already from the nectar filled honeycomb.

David does the heavy lifting. You can see that most of the honeycomb is in the upper left corner where most of the bees are.

Exciting and unexpected treat! Do you see them? There are already larvae in many of the cells. Little u-turn pink wormy-looking bee babies! From a chart in one of our books, we speculate that these are about 3-4 days old. In a few more days, they will enter the Pupa stage and workers will seal off the top of the cell. Inside the cell, the bee will develop legs and wings, and then after 21 days (total, 18 more days for ours) the adult workers will emerge from the cells. The bee's life cycle includes these four stages: egg, larva, pupa, adult.

David removes the queen's cage, which is no longer necessary.

You can see in this shot that the burr-comb has fallen to the bottom of the hive since the wax holding it up was scraped off.

David picks up a piece of the burr-comb, which we will take inside to investigate further, taste, and save for future homeschooling activites.

Meridian uses the bee brush to sweep the bees off of the comb.

In this closer shot, you can see that some of the cells are filled with a yellow liquid, while most are filled with a clear nectar. We don't know if this is the first signs of honey, or if this is stored pollen.

Jackpot! Wanna play Where's Waldo? David had the apiary put a tiny dot of paint on the queen bee so that we could learn to identify her. Note the sort of daisy petal pattern that some of the bees make around her? We speculate that these are attendant bees, whose job it is to constantly flap their wings, cooling the queen. If you study the queen here, you see that she has a longer abdomen than the other bees, and that she lacks the signature bee-stripes.

I mean, really! How thrilled am I with my husband. This is such an awesome hands-on learning unit that will Meridian will continue to learn from for years. Here she points out the queen.

Meridian scrapes some remaining wax from one of the frames, and again you see the honeycomb hill, climbing toward the upper left.

The hive tool with a bit of wax on the tip.

David looks with contented excitement at one of the frames while the bees go on about their business.

My Honey, the honey-maker.

So you see the bee wearing the MC Hammer pants? She is a forager, and her job is to collect pollen and nectar. Did you know that worker bees change their jobs during the course of their lives, according to their age? Newly born bees are housekeepers, cleaning the hive of debris. When they turn three days old, they become nurse bees, caring for and feeding the larvae. At about eleven days old, they become wax bees, tasked with building and repairing the honeycomb. After a few more days, the wax bees begin to store the nectar and pollen brought in by others for the winter. In another week's time, they become guard bees, using their antennas to inspect anyone trying to enter the hive. After they are three weeks old, they graduate to foragers and are charged with the most dangerous of the hive's jobs: going out to collect pollen. The lady wearing the MC Hammer pants (which are of course really balls of pollen) is a forager returning to the hive.

Do you believe this? Here my just-turned-six year old bare-handedly pulls a frame from the hive. Meanwhile I, covered finger-to-toe and shooting with a 300mm lens to maintain a safe distance, feel my leg pulse from an imaginary bee sting. I love that brave kid.

The frame comes out, covered in bees. Meridian doesn't even flinch.

Meridian finishes removing the frame from the deep. As she holds it up, we can observe the seemingly black-filled cells in the comb on the left side of the frame. We speculate that these are filled with reserves of pollen for later use, but we're surprised the pollen doesn't maintain its color.

David takes the frame from Meridian, and she studies it.

David and Meridian look at it together, discussing what they see.

She slides it back in place, pleased as punch with the whole experience.

Sweet contended pride. I love it that she's proud of herself.

I like this peek-a-boo shot from the side of the hive. The bees still work away on their frame, even when it hangs outside the hive. Meanwhile, David examines another above Meridian's head, and there's Meridian nicely "framed" between.

Meridian wanted very badly for the bees to walk on her. Here she managed to coax one onto her finger.

One last empty frame which needs to be added to the hive to fill the hole where the queen's cage was.

Back inside, complete with bee-helmet hair, Meridian examines and samples the nectar from the burr-comb.

Hmmmm, ...I'm not sure if she likes it.

05.26.2010

Happy Birthday, Big 6 Year Old!!

We had a nice quiet day. A playdate with a friend. Meridian chose breakfast for dinner, so Uncle Chris made homemade bread which became scruptious french toast, along with hashbrowns, eggs, and bacon. Then we opened some packages that came in the mail, and headed out to the toy store so Meridian could pick out her new bike. A solid happy birthday.

House Swarming Party

05.22.2010

Yesterday evening, we transfered the bees to the hive. We were abuzz with excitement, and had a great time working as a team to pull off the transfer. Chris manned the video camera, I took the stills, Meridian gathered equipment, and Dave did the dirty work. I must say, the whole operation was totally impressive, and I was really shocked bby the complete lack of fear. David went barefoot and without headgear. Meridian begged to be able to leave her hat off, which I totally vetoed. Chris and Meridian were both eager to allow the bees to crawl on them. Frankly, I was the only sissy; and though I was proud of myself for getting much closer than I thought I'd be comfortable getting, in the end, I was the only one who had a (minor) freakout and swatted at a bee. David was the picture of calm and concentration, not even flinching when one of the bees crawled into his ear. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Allow me to take you on a photo tour. You can click any of the pictures below to enlarge.

Meridian inspects one of the hive frames. The bees will walk between these, building honeycomb which will then be filled with honey.

And she slides it back in place. There are ten frames in the hive, leaving just the right amount of space between them to make the bees feel comfortable and safe.

Uncle Chris and Meridian all dudded up in their beekeeping gear. Bees prefer light colors and attack dark colors, since their natural predators are dark. (Think bears.) We weren't quite ready to invest in the real beekeeper suits, so we got these tyvek coveralls from the hardware store.

Meridian inspects the box of bees before we begin.

And then poses for a photo op for Mommy. I just adore this kid!

David holds a frame as Meridian sprays it with sugar water. This will entice the bees into the hive.

David slides that frame back in place, as Meridian watches, and Chris videotapes.

David takes a turn spraying one of the frames.

The hive: The rack on the left is just a tool to hold the frames, giving you more room to maneuver in the hive. The box the frames are being placed into is called a deep. This bottom deep will be filled with frames for building honeycomb. Beneath the deep is the hole the honeybees will use to enter and exit the hive. And the whole thing sits on a bottom board, which is raised on a stand (made in our case from cinder blocks and pallets).

Uncle Chris in his beekeeping helmet and screen.

David uses the hive too1 here to pry the lid off the case of bees. The hive tool will be used later in the season to lift the frames out, breaking through the propolis (bee glue) that the bees use to cement them in place.

Chris and Meridian look on, eagerly awaiting the emergence of the bees.

David removes the can of sugar water that has been feeding the bees during their transport. The first bees make their way out of the box.

With the can removed, the bees are now free to come out, but their instinct is to protect their queen, who is still in the box.

David removes the box holding the queen. She is in her own package so that you can safely get her into the hive, ensuring that she does not escape, causing the hive to swarm and depart. With the queen out, the bees now start to emerge.

A better look at the queen's cage. In addition to wanting to be near their queen, this little cage also holds candy, which is feeding the queen and blocking her exit from the cage, so the bees would like a bit of that too.

David removes the cork which covers a hole that will grant access to the worker bees. The worker bees will crawl into the hole and begin eating the candy that is blocking the queen in so that she can proceed into the hive. This will take a day or two.

Meridian pokes her hand in, excitedly hoping that some of the bees will want to walk on her!

Here you can see in the center of the cage, the little round hole that allows the queen to breathe. On the end, you can just barely see a bit of the hole behind the paper flap, which is where the bees will crawl and eat to free the queen.

Meridian holds a few bees and watches them studiously as they crawl about on her hand.

David lowers the queen's cage down into the center of the hive, where it will dangle for several days until the queen is freed, and the colony decides this is home.

One of the frames has been removed to make enough room to put the queen's cage into the hive. It will be restored later, and the cage removed.

Here you can see the queen's cage suspended between the frames of the hive, and you have a good view of the hole the bees will use to free her. The white substance blocking the hole is the candy they must eat through to gain access to her.

The majority of the hive is still in the bee box, and Meridian gets up close and personal.

David brings the bee box over to the hive and prepares to dump it in.

David take a moment to explain what to expect, and how to react, while Chris videotapes, and Meridian looks inquisitively into the hive.

He sets the lid aside.

David dumps the bees into the hive. You can see a big clump of them fall out here. While swarming the bees cling to each other and the entire mass moves kind of like jello. So, imagining a big lump of jello falling from an inverted jello-mold, and you'll pretty much have an idea of the movement as they fell.

After the large clump falls out, more single bees begin to fall or fly out.

David is shaking pretty hard at this point to dislodge the remaining bees.

The bees sit atop the frames and begin to make their way down into the hive, enticed by the presence of their queen and the sugar water that's been sprayed on to the frames.

David is perfectly calm and goes about his work, even as bees crawl through his hair and into his ear!

David covers the lower deep with a feeding tray, which will be filled with sugar water to feed the bees until they are able to feed themselves.

David has added an additional deep, which will hold the feeding tray in place in the hive, and protect is from other insects wanting a sweet treat. He pours in the sugar water (made from 5lbs of sugar to 2.5 quarts of water!) as the bees buzz around him.

A lone bee finds the entry hole to the hive. Word will spread quickly.

Meridian studies a bee which has landed on the screen of her headgear.

David fits the cover in place, trying not to squish any bees.

More and more bees have found the entry to the hive and explore.

I realize at the last moment that I'm not represented at all in these photos (so often the case), so Meridian and I pose for a picture.

The Birds and the Bees

05.21.2010

Our bees arrived this morning, and we received an 8am phone call from the post office asking us to come and get them. The looks of excitement from Meridian and David were downright contagious - think Christmas morning excitement! So, I grabbed the camera, and we all jumped in the car to go greet our new little honey-makers!

Click to enlarge.

Fortuitously, Meridian and I were scheduled to attend a homeschooling co-op this morning for a lesson on bees and beekeeping. Meridian was pleased as punch, and wore her beekeeping hat. A representative from our local beekeeper's guild came and gave a wonderful talk to the kids, showing off loads of equipment, and answering questions. She and the co-op host then had the kids work together to become a hive; each child was assigned a role for the upkeep and operation of the hive (from queen bee to drone to scout). The activity was super cute with the kids using props to perform their jobs. Meridian was a housekeeper, which meant she was responsible for keeping the hive clean. And then the kids got to make beeswax candles and take home two straws of honey.

Click to enlarge.

This evening we will empty the container of bees into the hive, and their work will begin! Cross your fingers for a successful transition and a healthy hive!