Another type of Need by other Special People in my life

Post mastectomy/double mastectomy gift ideas
(May want to give it to your person in need before they go for surgery)
Two separate people, dear to me, needed extra support in the past few months because they each underwent a double mastectomy. Then another friend knew a coworker having surgery and asked what I did for my people. Here are pictures of things I made that I know both women have been grateful for.

Post-surgery, you are stuck with these drain tube thingies hanging from the surgical sites. They are there for 1-2 weeks give or take. So, I saw some expensive options on the internet but made my own versions, rather cheaply or for free.

 

These are pouches, I made from the sleeves of some old kid clothes I had. The BC survivor can put the drain tubes inside a pouch and pin to an undershirt or the back of their main shirt. I also think you could use size 3T-4T kid socks- the less stretchy the better, I assume. I like the convenience of using large diaper pins versus small safety pins, but your choice.

A lanyard from an old convention I attended a few years ago. I added 2 pieces of the Velcro you wrap around cables to the lanyard. This is used to tie the drain pumps together when you are in the shower. (The 2nd picture is from Amazon.com)

This is a small kid's waist apron with a pocket. Cut a slit into the bottom to let the water drain out. I added extra ribbon to the original ties so that it could go around an adult. This was used by one friend in the shower who found it's convenience of dropping her drain tubes in it easy for the shower. She put her drain tubes in the pocket for her shower then afterwards just hung it on the shower rod to dry.

This last item is a scarf which I bought and sewed pockets into. I picked a pretty scarf but the BC Survivor wore it under her clothes & put her drain tubes in the pockets. But who says you have to wear an ugly scarf? Beat the ugly cancer with beauty and you will win. The pocket is made with some white felt I had.

Lastly, in case you don't feel comfortable giving the above supplies to your BC survivor person, you could always give a funny card about a "fast recovery" or "speedy recovery" and a funny DVD.

 "Laughter is the Best Medicine" ~unknown

Gluten Free Muffins Cooking Tip

When I cool my gluten free muffins I turn them upside down(in picture on the right side)on the cooling racks so they don't fall down into themselves (in picture on the left side).

Handicapped Parking

We had a lot of trouble with the handicapped parking at my child's school this past fall. People were constantly illegally parking in the spaces. The solution that seems to be working is the addition of an orange traffic cone. Simple for the school to do and a much calmer start to my daughter's school day. I can easily jump out of my car and move the cone and pull the van in. The person with disabilities, driving themselves, can easily drive right over the cone if necessary, to park in the spot. It's been a win-win, so far.

I have no problem waiting my turn to park if the handicap parking spaces were all being used by legally marked cars with handicap tags or plates but each day was so frustrating. People had excuses galore for using the handicap parking spots. "I'm just running into the school 'for just a minute,'" "I was hoping to get back to my car before the space was needed," etc. You, the illegal car parker, do not know my child's schedule. "Just a minute," is 60 seconds too long. You do not understand what it takes to pull a wheelchair and walker out of my van, having the room to do so and get a growing child into a wheelchair. You don't know what it is like to push all this over the ice and snow. Handicapped parking places have been made so that they have extra room around the car. They are usually close to the building because it often takes the person actually using them, much more energy to get to the door than you or I. The handicap parking spaces are placed by easy access ramps for the wheeled equipment.The handicapped parking places are placed to assist people with health issues. Be grateful you don't need this space and please respect those who do by parking in the hundred other parking spaces available nearby. Thank you.

UPDATE: Nowadays, the orange cones are placed at the end of the yellow lines, so I can just drive around them. 

Won't eat it, Be it!

If she won't eat the fruit, at least she can experience it.
Here G sits in a papasan chair. I used to hate these chairs for myself but it has been the perfect chair to get G up off the floor without having her strapped into a positioning chair. And the fruit- it's her own sensory bucket. She loved it.

Showering at the airport?

Obviously, Grace did not tolerate her medicine and tube-fed formula on her trip home. Just before take-off as we taxied on the runway, Grace threw up all over her clothes. For Grace, throw up is like a baby's spit up: Formula in, formula out. So, it didn't smell much. She promptly fell asleep and so I didn't move her for the duration of the flight. Our connecting city was Phoenix and I had less than an hour to de-plane and board our next flight. I asked for a family bathroom and was directed to the one near Gate A24 or there about. I realized Grace's change of clothes were in a different bag with one of my other kids. So, I quickly went to the bathroom and looked around. This family bathroom was one room with the toilet, a sink, a bench and a shower (puzzled face here). Who needs a shower at an airport? I flagged down my son to bring me Grace's clothes and he then helped me. As it turns out, Grace also had one of the worst blowouts from her other end that she has ever had!!!! Yuck!!! So, thank goodness this bathroom has a shower! With a million papertowels and the shower hose, I was able to quickly clean her up and get her redressed for the last flight home. I thought someone flying through Phoenix might find the shower as helpful as I did that day.

Sticking around

As G is being upright more and more, I have had to come up with ideas for her toys. Often while playing, she'll hit things too hard or just enjoy knocking them to the ground. I stuck velcro on an old art table of my kids and put the other side of the velcro on the toy. Now G can play with the toy without the toy falling off the table. Simple. Yahoo! You can also notice the electric keyboard in the background. We had to connect the piano to the shelving unit but it is the perfect height for G when she is in her Kids Walk walker and it is very motivating for her.

Child Rite Chair

The Child Rite chair is a larger version of the Bumbo seat that came out several years ago.
It costs a lot more than the Bumbo seat because they are not mass-produced. But for my daughter, the Child Rite chair has helped immensely in giving her a way to sit, supported, on the floor. I don't get any money from the company but I am still giving the website address because I find the seat very useful. http://www.childrite.com/