Alyssa Turns Eleven

Alyssa turned eleven this past Monday. She wanted a "pink train" cake - but not just any pink train. She wanted Rosie, one of the Thomas engine friends.

In the past, I've done some fancy run sugar cakes. This year I copped out an bought a Rosie toy and put it on top.

I would hang my head in shame, but I'm over it now. Alyssa got an extra birthday toy, and I saved a couple hours of work.

Plus, we made her frosting pink with guava. Yum!

She got some more trains, and a some puzzles, and a Yathzee, Jr. game. It's pretty fun.

Happy Birthday, Alyssa!

Fabulous News Report on Lyme

Sharon Rose, of WCSH TV station in Portland, Maine just did a 4 part series on chronic lyme. I must say I think it's the best news coverage I've ever seen on chronic lyme. It's accurate, informative and interesting.

They interviewed 4 patients who told their stories. All sound familiar to me in one way or another. Even though each person with lyme experiences different symptoms, one lyme patient can nearly always identify another. I can identify with each of these patients in several ways. The 2nd lady they interviewed has lyme-induced chemical sensitivity. I think she did a superb job of clearly explaining how chemicals effect her.

Here's the link to the stories. On the left is an article. On the right are the 4 stories. The 1st one is at the bottom. Watch from the bottom up. Each is 4-6 minutes, so not too long.

http://www.wcsh6.com/news/health/story.aspx?storyid=119882&catid=273

Sam Donta, the physician in the first segment, is one of a few Lyme Literate physicians in the United States. Lyme Literate physicians (LLMDs) know what the lyme bacteria and other tick borne co-infections are capable of and how to treat them.

I am so thankful LLMDs are here to help us. Their numbers are small but they repair thousands of lives. Healing from late stage or long term lyme disease is no small task. It is a long road and it is a blessing to have doctors who are dedicated to helping us heal.

Alyssa and the Pool Boy

Part of our busy summer is to have Alyssa take swimming lessons. Alyssa has a love/terror relationship with the water, and we'd like to try and fix that.

A family across town offers lessons in their pool, and one of their options is five days of one-on-one instruction for a very good price. We signed up.

Here's Alyssa with James after her first lesson.

His main goal for the day was to get her to put her face in the water.

Her main goal for the day was to keep her face out of the water. Same thing today. Maybe tomorrow.

She is enjoying it, though, and I'm picking up some good games I can use with her to help her in the future as well.