It's the Great Pumpkin, Feisty Pants!

                       Happy happy Nerdoween!   The weather has finally turned chilly.  My roof is finally done. (I am literally and metaphorically grateful for the roof over my head.)  The Feistymobile seems to be chugging along nicely.  Best of all, next Sunday we turn the clocks back to where they belong (HOLLA-LUJAH!) and I may just get an extra hour of sleep.  

                        Now all we gotta do is get those pumpkins carved and finish everybody's costumes in time for tomorrow. Fiesty Pants is simple.  She is all done thanks to the generosity of Auntie Awesome Pants (thank you!!!)  who sent her a unicorn kigarumi over the summer. I expect it will become Feisty Pant's pjs, costume, formalwear, and uniform for all occasions this winter. (It's warm, it's soft, it's a pretty blue, and it has a built in horn.)  As for everyone else, well now's the time for the last minute nerdoween frenzies. (Cue screams and maniacal laughter and rolls of thunder.)

                        So if you're also always a day late and a dollar short like us, here are some last minute links to help you escape the twin beasts of procrastination and disorganization.  Good luck and Godspeed.

                       

Pumpkin Stencils:

  PumpkinPile 2017  Hundreds of stencils here

  Society 19 Adorable Pumpkin Carvings  Cute and unusual

  Make Use Of- creative pumpkin stencils  Some more intricate ones here

  

Last minute Costumes:   

   Think inside the Box-  Eight cardboard box costumes

   DIY Network Easy Kid's Costumes 

   HGTV Easy White T-shirt Costumes We all can scrounge up a white t-shirt         

                         

If it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium

            So, here it is Tuesday again.  Must be Belgium, or in our case Syracuse.  Seriously, we seem to be running to Syracuse (or, occasionally, Philadelphia) every Tuesday. Orthopedic surgeons (we see two currently), infectious disease doctors (that one is a whole team), pediatric neurologist, ENT (for Botox), physiatrist (more Botox), low vision specialty ophthalmologist, gi doc (g-tube), and today’s flavor, pulmonologist.   I swear we spend more time in cars than an Uber driver or James Corden.  

            And those are just specialists we see regularly. That doesn’t include her regular pediatrician. Or therapy (physical, occupational, speech, and visual). Or appointments with equipment vendors, or social workers, or state health department workers, or the pharmacy.  Or all the paperwork from all of the above.  Think of the paperwork you fill out for your doctor.  Add a dozen more medications, forty plus hospital stays, a gazillion surgeries and illnesses.  Times all of that by all the people I just mentioned.  Finally, add six more pages just because. And whatever you do, don't forget to sign extra paperwork so all these docs can talk to each other, the therapists, the school, and her nurse.  And have copies of EVERYTHING to give the nurse and school.

             Plus Feisty Pants is on a dozen or so meds that we have to administer over the course of a day.  Plus FP has to be hooked to a food pump six times a day.  Plus she has to be suctioned at truly random intervals.  Goo and I sleep in shifts to accomplish all this.  Now add all those other creatures you love, family, friends, pets to take care of. A house to run. (Feisty Pants alone generates a load of laundry per day)

              Plus all these out of town runs take two people, so Goo has to give up sleep which just makes him a joy to be around.  And we have been sitting here in a crowded, overheated, little room for an hour now waiting. ( I just dare any doctor's office to threaten to not see her if we are ever late. I will turn into an utter banshee over that little bit of arrogance.) Something is going on in one of the other patient rooms.  Doctors keep gowning up and masking and running in and out looking concerned. I cannot even complain.  We have been that room often enough. In a few minutes, the doctor and nurse will walk in and over the course of the hour (yes, HOUR) one of them will casually say, “Oh, you don’t work?” to me.  I will simply explain the Feisty Pants is my job.  I won’t hit them or yell or anything.   

               This frigging day better end in dark chocolate though or all bets are off for tomorrow.

           

Are you sitting down for this one?

                   I was unsure whether to write this post about our long, infuriating slog to try to get a new wheelchair for Feisty Pants or to complain about whoever forgot to turn off Summer's oven.   But frankly, even though this wet, sticky, humid curse of a summer will never end, even I am tired of hearing myself complain about it.  (Honestly, it's like living in the Devil's armpit.)   Surely it will either end soon or kill me through sleep deprivation so won't be much longer either way.  So since I am a little tired and crabby  (What?  I said little and I meant it, I just smell like brimstone right now is all.) I am going to write about trying to get FP her new wheels.

                 Since Robokid had her spine totally rebuilt this summer, part of which included anchoring her rods into her pelvis, she needs a completely new chair.  Her old chair was rebuilt, but still does not meet her physical needs.  It has been three years since her last completely new chair (as opposed to rebuilding the seat only).  Shriner's did a complete wheelchair evaluation and wrote the doctor's order and letter of medical necessity. These were then sent to the vendor.  Who did nothing. For 14 weeks. And didn't tell that he wasn't going to submit it. I had to hunt effing jerk down myself and ask what was taking so long.  He claimed he had tried to get a hold of the PT from Shriner's but she did not get back to him.  When I talked to the PT, she informed me that she had indeed talked to him AND told him if FP's insurance refused to pay, Shriner's would.   And yet this vendor STILL refused to submit. He finally tried to set up an appointment with us so "he could explain and repair her current chair."  That we had already had rebuilt.  I told him I was not interested.  Either submit like we had asked or give me the paperwork. (Those orders and the letter of justification.)  Which he then sent to Shriner's (not me) and told them I had fired him. 

               We have found another vendor. We'll see how this one goes.   But the appalling arrogance astounds me. I have seen equipment vendors refuse to submit orders before, but usually only if they fear they won't get paid. This man was told no problem, he'll get paid. And yet he still wouldn't do it. So tell me. dear readers, why did this jerk do this?   It was not about not getting paid.   Was he offended by me, a mere parent(and a female one at that) daring to challenge his authority?  Was he covering up for something else- did he screw up her billing before and not want her insurance really looking at it?  For the life of me, I cannot figure out why this guy wanted to not only turn down a sale but try to actively sabotage her getting to another vendor.  

               Honestly, if this zombie summer doesn't shamble along soon or we don't finally get out from under all this nonsense, I will be asking you all to get me a hat to pass around for bail money.