Yesterday afternoon the swelling on Ben's face started
to come down. The doctor came by this morning and
noticed as well. He said if the swelling continues to
come down when he checks on him tomorrow, then Ben can
go home tomorrow! :-)
Ben eating a turkey croissant.
From Valerie:Ben had surgery on his face and hand yesterday, and it
went well per the surgeon. He said he drained some
pus and clear fluid.
Ben's right side of his face continued to swell
through the night. His right eye is almost swollen shut.
The doctor came by this morning and noticed the face
swelling is still increasing, and said he could not go
home until the swelling goes down. He ordered an
increase of the IV antibiotic he is currently getting
as well as adding an additional antibiotic.
The hospital should have the blood tests back tomorrow
so we know for sure what we are dealing with.
I called CareNow this morning as they did a swab test
on his hand on Saturday and are suppose to have the
lab results back today, they don't have them yet, but
will call my cell when they get them. They just
called back while I was typing this email, and the
preliminary results came back negative - no growth -
no bacteria in the hand. He said the final results
normally don't change but can. Not sure what to think
about this due to his continued swelling.
Ben doesn't act like he is hurting at all. He is just
playing and running around like usual, as well as
pushing the nurse call button whenever we turn our
heads, probably like 30 times since we have been here.
They don't seem to mind too bad.
Last night they had to take blood from him twice. He
didn't like it at all. Now if anyone comes in the
room, the nurse, doctor, the person delivering food,
he cries. He thinks they will hurt him. :(
As of 430PM Texas 1030PM Belgium, Ben was out of surgery and doing fine per Richard. He said more information to come
Wednesday (8 a.m.-1 p.m.) on Market square (food)
Saturday (8 a.m.-1 p.m.) on 't Zand square and on Beursplein (food and non food)
Sunday (8 a.m.-1 p.m.) on Ten Briele (food and non food)
Fish market: Tuesday through Saturday, every morning.
Flea market along Dijver and at Fish market: Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. till 6 p.m. (15th March-15th November).
Ben started Preschool last week at the First United Methodist Church
of Allen. They offer a excellent program, and came recommended by a
friend as well as an online preschool review. I was lucky to get Ben
in, as the day before I called, one of the toddlers had moved and
there was an opening for Ben! He goes just one day a week, which is
just perfect for me right now. His class is Thursdays from 9-2 during
the school year. He is in a special class for toddlers who are 18-23
months from Sept.
I plan on doing no-stop cold calling for work while he is there. I
was doing this when they called about 12:30 last Thursday to inform
me that one of his eyes was swollen almost shut and his face was
covered in hives, I took him to the doc, and she said it was allergy
related, but we are unsure of the exact cause this time. I really
needed not to give him an antihistamine due to allergy testing
scheduled for today. Well the hives went away within an hour and the
puffy eye was back to normal the next day. (he has never had the
puffy eye thing before) The doc also diagnosed him eczema, I got some
hydro cortisone cream and it really helped a lot.
So today we went to the allergist and got poor little Boo all
scratched up on his back with multiple potential allergens. Poor
little guy is allergic to a lot. He has been diagnosed with severe
allergy to peanuts and all nuts, and was given a prescription for a
few EpiPen Jr.'s for emergencies. He rated as Grade 4+++ for peanuts
on a scale from 0-4. Items rated as Grade 2, 3, or 4 (with 4 being
the highest) generally indicate significant clinical sensitivity
(positive evidence of allergy). With Foods, he also rated Grade 4
for Milk and Soybeans; Grade 3 for Egg and Fish Mix; Grade 2 for Nut
Mix and Shellfish Mix. He also rated Grade 3+ for Oak; and Grade 2
for Cedar Mountain and Grass Mix. He rated well for Tree Mix, Weed
Mix, Mold Mix, and Cat with a Grade 1; as well as with Wheat, Rice,
Dog, Dust mite, and Cockroach with a Grade 0; which shows no evidence
of allergy for these items. Poor little Boo, you should have seen
his back. (Richard took a photo if you really want to see) He also
needs to have a more comprehensive blood test done in one month.
Other then that, Ben is doing great! He loves to count everything.
He counts to two ALL the time, and sometimes to three. He loves to
swing on the big kids swings now, and go down the real big slides all
by himself!
A student walking to school (just outside the front door)
Leah's future class/classmates on the second floor
2 Euro Beer
Flags of Flanders
Leah got a great shot of the leader/winner Zdenek Stybar.
Casa Brujas bottom
Casa Brujas top
The house looks all new inside as if it has been recently remodeled. I went by myself to the grocery store this AM and was a little slow packing up my groceries. So I self deprecatinglySaturday was a misty rainy day in
Me at the Nelson Memorial. The rain was warm and misty.
I tripped and fell as we were boarding the ferry. There was an unmarked lip from the boarding ramp as it turned a corner onto the car ramp and I just did a header. William took lots of pictures.
The trip was otherwise uneventful and we took a bus and then a taxi to the Hotel Leopold. We went out walking this afternoon and tried to get familiar with some of the streets around Beenhouwersstraat. Next to the house is an old chapel that has been turned into a gallery and a house that was having a children’s party downstairs. We walked around the nearby park that has a bit of child’s play equipment. Some children were playing and a little boy pointed at Bill and said opa (grandpa pronounced oopa). His mom corrected him, but I thought it was cute. We found the bank in the Markt and looked around the square.
We spent much of the day in the National Museum of Scotland looking at the history of the Scotsand then went to a local museum called the People’s Story.Some thoughts about the Scottish People:
When we drove through the
After we returned the car to the downtown train station, we spent most of the rest of the day in the Edinburgh castle. William in the guardhouse.
William in the POW dungeon.
Me in St. Margaret's Chapel
A view of the castle on the rocks.
The front gate with William Wallace on the Right and Robert the Bruce on the Left.
Lunch was at the edge of this beautiful lake at Glencoe, Lochan.
U-shaped glaciated valley.
William on a style
We stopped at to view some Scottish tree farming. They grow conifers like corn. Cut down and replant. Since they do not have to worry about fire they just leave the slash in place.
Once we arrived we took a walk around the quay in Oban. We took pictures of a ruined castle at the end of the quay.
We stopped at the Honister Slate mine. There has been a slate mine here at least since Roman times. It has been recently reopened and incorporates the tourist aspect like the 16 to One Gold Mine near our home, along with commercial slate mining.
There are so many different kinds of sheep here and all cute but dumb.
We got out to walk on a National Trust trail and a man was selling National Trust memberships out of a van. This is one of the ways the trail and landmark system is subsidized. You get free car parking and free admission to places where there is an admission fee.
The trail we walked on was around 
We ate our bit of lunch and started back when Wm saw a side trail up to a small waterfall on Sour Milk Gill.
The rest of the day we spent driving to Kesick in the
William is checking out the sheep. 
