Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) usually affects infants and children under 10 years old. It is a viral illness that is considered moderately contagious and last for 7 to 10 days. Like most viral illnesses, there is not a specific cure, nor is there a vaccine to prevent infection. The number of cases has been growing in parts of Asia since March of 2008. In China, the number of cases seemed to peak in May at 176,000 confirmed cases of HFMD. In June, China reported less than 4,000 cases a day. Hong Kong had only report 100 cases as of July 2. Taiwan confirmed... more

I am guilty. I admit to running out of children’s Motrin in the past and just giving my child half of an adult tablet. My thinking, like so many parents, was that children need the same medicine as adults, just in smaller doses, because they are smaller. However, that is not always the case. Some medications affect children much differently than they affect adults. When it comes to giving our children medications, we need to remember that they are not just miniature adults.

If you are fostering children, or if a child is placed with you, but not yet adopted, you need... more

If your child has diabetes then his or her blood sugar levels are too high. High blood sugar can damage nerves or blood vessels over time. That nerve damage can result in burning pain or cause your child to lose sensitivity in body parts such as the feet. Because of lost sensitivity, your child may not feel a cut, blister, or sore. Ulcers and infections can result from these untreated foot injuries. Your child’s feet may eventually not get enough blood or oxygen due to... more

One thing is for certain, I would have failed the test of loving LuLu is I hadn’t really loved myself first.

I’ve written before about agape love and love being an action word…and how hard it is to love unlovable kids. But, to really be able to survive learning how to love a child with challenges (especially if they are extreme and manifest themselves in behaviors), you have to first truly LOVE yourself. There is very little room for self-doubt and low self-esteem in parenting... more

Many teenagers in the U.S. foster care system smoke cigarettes. If you have considered older child or teenager adoption, or if you have already adopted a teenager then you are probably aware of this. Today, the “Great American Smoke Out” might be a good day to encourage your teenager to stop smoking. Demanding that your teenager stop smoking won’t work, that will only reinforce the habit. Long lectures about the risk of smoking, the smell, discolored teeth, bad breath, the cost, and the inconvenience probably... more

One of the highlights of my time at the ATTACh conference was the chance to spend some time with Dr. Katharine Leslie, an extraordinary therapist and adoptive mom of four. Katharine volunteered to teach yoga each night to us true novices. (Just how does she get her body in all those positions?) After one of those sessions, several of us moms headed off to dinner. It gave us a chance to get to know Katharine even better. We all shared quite a few laughs about things that could have brought us tears. But Katharine’s overall message rang clear…that moms especially don’t spend enough... more

I will be sharing in my upcoming blogs some of the more academic things I learned at this week’s ATTACh conference and some of the exciting things in store for the organization that has captured my heart…the Attachment & Trauma Network. But this is about practical lessons learned.

What I Learned on My Trip:

1. Philadelphia is my least favorite city in the entire country. After spending a week there this summer with LuLu (and enduring several meltdowns a day, lots of walking and TONS of noise), I didn’t think I cared for the city that much.... more

One of the commenters on my recent Wounded blog asked:

But can you heal while still in the trenches? With really no end in sight?

A great question to which my only answer is another question: Do we have any other choice? I don’t think so. We’re backed into a corner, and so are our kids. Children with special needs/disabilities didn’t choose this and neither did we. Our only real choice is to persevere or to throw in the towel.... more

Last year I had a sebaceous cyst removed from my leg. This cyst had been with me since I was five years old. But it was growing (about the size of a golf ball) and pressing on my leg muscles just above my knee, causing discomfort. The doctor said it was too big to remove in his office, so we had to go the general anesthesia/outpatient clinic route.

He was also concerned about whether or not it would leave a scar. Because of the size and depth, he did indeed have to make the larger incision. And it has left a very obvious scar (not to mention a dent in my leg where the muscles... more

I appreciate all the hugs and prayers that commenters posted yesterday to my Wounded blog entries. My intent, though, is not to sound full of self-pity. My situation here is no worse than it usually is. In fact, it may be improving, hence the opportunity for reflection.

This is the way I’ve always handled life…so immersed in something that I couldn’t debrief or recognize my own needs until I was done. When I was teenager, I detassled corn. As Midwest farm teens know, this job is financially more lucrative than other summer jobs. But it is not easy work. (Maybe it is now…maybe... more