They said they would have a decision at the end of next week. I'm trying to figure out if I could make it work logistically before they offer, so I don't have to rush to make a decision.

They're not absolutely against it, but they are nervous.

I taught high school before DS10 was born and I decided to stay home. I've been an on/off college adjunct the past 4 years.

Welcome to the board. Thanks for telling me (a year and a half later) that my kid's writing is so bad IN THE SIXTH GRADE that he'll need to pay other people to do his work for him in college. Fuck right off.

We have plenty of experience with strep and PANDAS/PANS here with DS13. This is not at that level , but it's also not a bad idea. The pedi called and we talked about possible infections and also hay fever; the plan is to have him on daily antihistamines and retake the blood draw in a month. (Since he kicked the phlebotomist, I am not looking forward to doing that again so soon. Gah.)

So, the child psych people finally reached out, and I can make an appointment. BUT - he's improving! He's not *better*, but it's not as bad as it was two weeks ago. So, I'll make an appt tomorrow and then hope that he continues to improve while we wait for said appt...

...and it went okay, I think. The job is upper-school (6-8th) advanced math in my local k-8 grammar school. I would have to enroll my kids (obviously), but they would be all in the same building as me for the next school year. DS10 will have a full evaluation in the fall (I've already signed the paperwork), because he will likely need some supports but also to figure out how to best place him, as he is currently working his way through the AoPS Intro to C&P book and regular public-school 5th grade math isn't going to be enough for him. DS13 will likely be able to take an geometry class at the high school next door while in the 8th grade (he's finished alg 1 & 2, and is also working through the Intro to C&P book). I just haven't decided if I actually WANT to take the job and enroll everyone in school? I've been home with them for 10 years... I kinda like it. 😉

Thanks, all. These numbers came in as I was going to bed last night, and I know that googling medical things at night is NEVER a good idea. He has mild symptoms of hay fever. He had covid in May, if that could be a part of this. He's not asthmatic. His behavior has been an issue lately, and I was wondering if he had something else going on. An infection of some type would track with that. Still waiting for the pedi to return my message...

DS8 had regular blood work after his well child exam. These results seem concerning?

Welp... The pandas clinic won't see him; they say that he doesn't meet their criteria. 😞 His pedi has presented his case to a child psychiatry advisory panel, and someone is supposed to call us. She says they thought his case was "interesting." In the meantime, he's stopped touching food with his hands, and will only eat food with a utensil. *sigh*

He is actually in full-day soccer camp this week, which is absolutely exhausting him and helping keep his mind occupied during the day and his brain tired at night. I'm going to try to tweak his diet a bit this week and see if it helps at all. He's growing so tall and consumes SO MANY calories; I really need to make sure that they are of a better quality than he has been eating.

He tested negative for strep in the office on Thursday, so she won't prescribe him anything at the moment.

Yeah, I live near Boston, and Boston Children's "kidnapped" a child here 10 years ago. They still do not have pandas/pans mentioned anywhere on their website, when other local hospitals are running clinics (treatment and research). Our pedi office is Children's -related, so it's frustrating but not unexpected that they still think it's not a thing. *deep sigh* I called the pandas clinic at MassGeneral, and they said that the head clinician will be reading DS13's paperwork tomorrow morning, and we will hear from them tomorrow afternoon. Fingers crossed.

Six years ago, DS13 went through a sudden, horrifying, frightening mental health crisis that was precipitated by a strep infection. We recognized part -way through the ordeal that this had happened before, at least twice, and this time it was so bad that we thought he was going to have to be hospitalized. EVEN THOUGH my pediatrician didn't believe in a diagnosis of PANDAS (Pediatrician Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections), she treated the strep with antibiotics and he was markedly better 48 hours later. It took months for him to fully return to normal, and he's been relatively healthy ever since. He would have a recurrence of (milder) symptoms with infections (colds, infected cuts, etc) or if he lost a tooth, but nothing anywhere near what it was in the summer after 1st grade. Fast forward to today. DS13 had a mild covid infection in May, and within a week ALL THE PANDAS SYMPTOMS ARE BACK, and this time they brought friends. OCD, severe anxiety, food avoidance... It's been an awful month. And he's fully and completely aware of what's going on in his own head this time, and he's now referring to himself as "going insane." 😫 And the pediatrician STILL doesn't believe it could be from an infection, or that PANDAS is a real thing. So, once again, I am having to do my own medical research. I've called a bunch of specialty clinics (post-covid clinics, pediatric neuro immunology clinics) and I have found a PANDAS clinic and filled out their paperwork, so now we wait to see if anyone will accept him and treat this as a medical issue. Meanwhile, my pedi called this morning and talked about medication to treat a psychiatric break. WTAF. So, we wait. And I treat him with antihistamines, omega-3, vitamin D, and low-dose Advil (all anti-inflammatory) and keep researching...

Tillamook cream cheese doesn't have any gums in it. Have you tried a different kind?

If they like chess, my 7th grader really enjoyed The Chess Mysteries of Sherlock Holmes: Fifty Tantalizing Problems of Chess Detection. It's retrograde chess analysis.

You could request lots of math picture books from the library, and read and discuss a new one every day, all summer. The Living Math website (https://www.livingmath.net/#) has an enormous list of math readers, broken down by topic.

My pediatrician said Tylenol over Advil, something about research last year showing that it caused fewer problems or something of the like... Pulse oximeter, digital thermometer (if they don'e have it), decongestant, juice, ginger ale, popsicles? My kids have eaten a lot of bananas, because several of them have had some nausea/gastrointestinal symptoms.

DS5 is almost completely recovered (day 8). DS10 has only a stuffy/runny nose left (day 5). DH has a cough and congestion (day 4). DS13 has a slight cough, headache, sore throat (day 2). DS8 went to bed with a sore throat and woke up with a barking cough, so we will call this day 2 for him, even though he hasn't tested positive yet. DH and some of the kids are going to drive some provisions down to my FIL today. I'm going to stay home and rest and keep my fingers crossed that maybe I won't get it....

Day 7 (F) update: DS5, DS10, DH, DFIL, and DS13 have all tested positive. DS26 and DS8 have some symptoms, but are still negative. I have no symptoms (yet). I tested negative again this afternoon, so I ran some errands (masked/distanced) to get food, more tests, Gatorade, medicines, and library books. Uuuuuugggghhhhhh......

We never stopped wearing masks when out in public, switching to KN95s as soon as we could get them, and we made it aallllllll the way....until this week. DS5 and DS10 now positive. The younger one is already nearly back to normal, but the older started getting sick last night and is absolutely miserable today. It's going to be a long month.

This is going to last forever and get us all. 😩 Timeline so far: Day 1 - (Sa) DS5 is warm, starts coughing. Day 3 - (M) DS5 tests positive Day 5 - (W) DS10 wakes up with sore throat, headache. Tests positive.

I love to bake, it calms my brain! I picked rhubarb from the neighbor's plant this morning (with permission), and made a big pot of strawberry rhubarb compote, which I sandwiched between two layers of yellow cake and vanilla frosting. I also made vanilla ice cream. Yay, me!

DS5 is looking a bit better, and was outside for a while before lunch. He spent most of yesterday lying down, so that's an improvement! I didn't sleep a wink, and I'm suddenly considering a nap. But, there's still schoolwork to get through, music lessons (virtual) this afternoon for two kids, and I'm about to bake my own birthday cake. Maybe I'll close my eyes while it bakes.... 😝

The rest of us have so far tested negative. I will have DS8 sleep in with DS10 & DS13 tonight on the floor, so DS5 can sleep in his own room. We have one bathroom upstairs and one down, so I will just wipe them down every time he uses one. Every window in the house is open, thank goodness. I asked DS5 if he would try to stay either in his room or in the sunroom (has windows on 3 sides), and he was okay with that. The policy in DH's workplace is that he, double-vaxed-and-boosted, can continue to go to work as long as he doesn't show symptoms. I am *very* annoyed that they won't just make him stay home. I will have to go out later for more tests, and I might pick up an air purifier for his bedroom while I'm out.