Fifteen years on and farewell to MAD

We're still grieving over the 15th anniversary of the worst terror attack in history. It is hard to believe how long ago it was - I still vividly remember exactly what I was doing when I first learned of it as if it had happened yesterday. But at the same time, doesn't it seem the outrage over those egregiously vicious acts has dissipated too quickly and easily? What are your thoughts?

At the urging of our GP, who is filling in for C.'s pediatrician (the latter, at the age of 70, decided to climb a few Californian mountains), I consulted a dietitian about the C.'s plummeted albumin and slightly low hemoglobin levels. I did so very reluctantly since I've never had a high regard for dietitians, presuming their knowledge to be scanty and freely available from Dr. Google.

Well, I may be prejudiced but, strangely, I'm also pretty open-minded. After a brief session with this dietitian I did a 180. She  won me over with her explanation of how the body needs carbs and, when it doesn't get any, it breaks down protein to extract the carbs therein causing protein depletion..

She added that C. may have tolerated the MAD - Modified Atkins Diet - but was now apparently suffering these side effects from it.  (She's been on it for about 10 years.) I left the clinic - 5 minutes from home - with instructions  on how to introduce carbs gradually and a referral for repeat blood tests next month. (Could it get any simpler?)
So C. has already had red quinoa and brown rice which has left me  high on optimism again. True to form, my imagination has run amok and I'm dreaming that the carbs will not only help heal C.'s pressure sores but boost her energy and cognition levels. (An occasional bit of fantasy never hurt anybody, right?)

And yesterday we brought C. to our HMO's Wounds Clinic where the experts re-examined C.'s whoppers, declaring them all either "healing nicely" or "not-too-bad".  Her course of antibiotics was halted and the iodine and gauze treatment continued along with twice weekly visits from our our dear home visiting nurse.

Unwelcome weight loss

During the summer vacation last month and, again, when hydro-therapy was cancelled last week, I gave C. her showers at home.

Besides being strenuous,  the experience was traumatic. That's because, to put it bluntly, C. has grown gaunt. The real-deal gaunt; the anorexic-gaunt.

Those weeks when she was barely eating (here and here for instance) have clearly taken their toll. I decided to add something to her modified Atkins diet that might add a bit of fat to her skin and bones. First, I tried red quinoa mixed in with her meat and vegetables.. She rejected that out of hand. For three meals she refused to lift the spoon and, when I myself fed her, she kept the stuff in her mouth for ages before swallowing despite many swigs of water to wash it down.

I admitted defeat and ditched the quinoa. I've now switched to whole sesame tahina. She seems more amenable to this and spoon-feeds herself again, albeit very slowly. Each meal takes a half to two hours.

Here is C.'s gauntness in all its glory:

 

And here is her seizure-related gash healing very nicely:

I can't wait to have those whisker-like stitches removed, though.