An Amazing Brave Woman!

Though this is not what my blog is about, I wanted to share this amazing and brave woman's story, which also somewhat explains my absence to the blog lately. I think this is a very important subject today and that her story should be shared....

My husbands grandmother, Peggy Bell, has been fighting multiple types of cancers for more than 20 years. She has so very bravely fought and beat leukaemia, breast cancer and lung cancer twice!! At the beginning of 2012 she was told she had spinal cancer which they found because she kept fracturing her spine.



Henrietta "Peggy" Bell (Bubba) and Kaylee..Aug. 2012

After she so bravely went through yet another round of chemotherapy, she was getting dizzy and was seeing doubles, she had mentioned this to me at my sister-in-laws baby shower (picture on right). The doctor had told her it was probably from the cancer treatments and medications she was taking. It began to get worse and so she went to her doctor again, and they found that she had brain cancer.

Like the amazingly strong woman she is, she kept fighting this terrible illness and went through more radiation and chemo until her body just couldn't take anymore. Her blood cell count was too low and so they had her take a break in treatment to see if it was working as well as let her body recoup.

We were waiting for the test results and Gram ended up in the hospital with constipation which we thought was just from her medicines. Yet, we come to find out she now had colon cancer too!

She asked to be sent home. Gram told us all that she was waiting for her newest great grand baby to be born. My husbands sister, Julie, delivered her baby Audrey on November 29, 2012. Gram Skyped and saw the baby the following night and the next morning passed away taking her last breathes with her wonderful husband Kenny by her side along with her daughters Sandy (my husbands mother) and Lynette.

Henrietta "Peggy" Bell was a wonderful wife, mother to two, grandmother to two including my husband and a great grandmother to 4, which includes my 3 who knew her as "Bubba", who lived a pretty amazing life. She also had a life long friend that she would want me to mention, Carol, whom she worked with at the hospital. They stayed best friends until the very end.

She was a nurse, in fact one of three nurses that ran what is now Excela Health Latrobe Hospital. Peggy did her job well, so well that she is still remembered there by the current workers.

When Gram wanted something done, she went and did it 100%. Like when she wanted to marry her husband of 52 years, he was in the military and was notified that he was going on leave to get married and was sent home. Peggy arranged the whole thing!!

She told you how she felt no matter how it made her sound. She was true and straight forward, never giving you anything but herself.

Peggy wasn't selfish. She had a huge heart and would do anything for not only the people she loved, but would help anyone she could. Gram volunteered at the Leukaemia Foundation, not just as a donation either, she gave her time and energy to help those going through such a terrifying struggle. She did this before she was ever diagnosed with any type of cancer.  Among this, she always volunteered at her church and other organizations too.

My husband Nathan and his sister Julie were very close to their grandparents. Our daughter Kaylee was especially close to her Bubba. Kay was with her a lot when she was a baby all the way up until September last year she would go over and spend the day with them.

Last, I would like say that Peggy Bell is the strongest, bravest, motivated and kind hearted person I have ever had the pleasure to meet let alone be a part of her family. She went through so much and yet no matter what she kept fighting, no matter the toll it took on her.  I am proud to be able to say that I knew her and we will al miss her so very much.

I am glad that Peggy's fight is over and that she is finally able to rest. But, I am also mad that after all the battles she had won, cancer is what took her in the end. Rest in Peace Gram.

Thanks for reading!!!
~S.Overly

Child ADHD won the Liebster Award!!

I don't know if I mentioned, but back in June I received a post from one of my followers, Dr. Momsie. She had given Child ADHD Info her Liebster Blog Award and it was a great honor! She also included a link to the page where she wrote a little about the 5 blogs she gave the award to. She had actually looked into me pretty well and here is what she had to say about me and Child ADHD Info:

"Next awesome blog, Child ADHD Info- Raising a Child with ADHD. As a psychologist, I can't resist sharing this blog. The author, Stacy, is a mother of a child with ADHD and has worked in psychology, and she has definitely done her research. If you have a child with ADHD or are concerned your child might have ADHD, you've got to check out this blog!"

This review was a very proud moment for Child ADHD and myself, especially coming from a psychologist!! So, I wanted to take this time to again thank Dr. Momsie for this wonderful review and award! Feel free to check out her wonderful blog here.

Child ADHD Info's Newsletter 9/4//12

Child ADHD Info's Newsletter is out!! With a heart warming and inspiring ADHD success story you CAN'T miss! Read it now by clicking here or by going directly to http://eepurl.com/o4AGf

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to get all the Child ADHD Info news first! Just enter your email at the right of the page under "Signup for Child ADHD Info's Newsletter" and click subscribe :)

Social Security Benefits For ADHD Children

Many disabled Americans receive Social Security benefits or SSI. All types of different disabilities both mental and physical can qualify for these benefits, as long as the meet the Social Security Administrations (SSA) guidelines for receiving them. These benefits include income of up to $500/monthly as well as possible medicaid. Someone told me that you can receive these benefits for a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). So, I started to wonder if this was true, looked into it and found some interesting information...

After looking into different articles as well as SSA policies and guidelines, I found that it is indeed possible to be eligible for and receive Social Security benefits for your ADHD child. Is it easy to get these benefits? No not really though its used to be much easier.

Back to School with ADHD

Well, we have officially started a new school year and is it me, or did the summer months just fly by? It feels to me like the summer vacation just started last month! Before we know it Christmas will be here.

The beginning of a new school year is hard for any parent with school let alone parents of children with ADHD. In the first month of school parents have pictures, new schedules, fundraisers start and that's just some of the things we have going on. Having an ADHD child includes meeting new teachers, going to IEP/Support meetings, organizing your child with the new schedule, and  the fights over homework. This can be a very frustrating time for the parents as well as the child. Most of the time, the same things that are stressful for us are also for your child. 

In my experience, this is one of the most stressful and frustrating times during the school year for your ADHD child. And though I know it can be very hard at times, we have to remember this. He/she is trying to get back into a bedtime and morning routine, sitting for longer periods, organizing, remembering/completing/turning in homework/assignments, and controlling his/her behaviors more. They are doing all this after a long vacation and more relaxed three months away from all these demands.

Intuniv For ADHD Children ~ What is Intuniv?

I have had a few parents asking about Intuniv. Either those who already have their child on Intuniv as well as those thinking about starting their child on it for their ADHD. So, I decided to look into and get all the facts as well as the opinions and experiences of parents with children on Intuniv to see how it works, how it affects ADHD, the different side effects etc. to help my readers better understand the medication, it's uses and any possible issues.This latest research I thought would take a day when it actually has taken me a few days to research it all!

What is Intuniv?

There are many children out there that take stimulant medications like Concerta or Adderall for their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). However, Intuniv is a long active non stimulant prescription medication for children with ADHD like Strattera. For those of you that don't know, a non stimulant is not a controlled substance which means it doesn't  pose the same concerns of dependency or addiction as stimulants can.

Welcoming My Little Niece~Aliyah!

So after taking the kids to school this morning my mom called to let me know my brother was having his baby and I was going to be a niece again! I was so excited..I haven't held a baby in soo long and miss it!! 

Anyways, I wrote about my experience this morning with my brother having his baby along with some adorable first pics of my little niece Aliyah who was born around 11:30 this morning weighing 7lb 1oz and being 19" long!! 

All this labor had me remembering mine and wondering if I should be making an addition to our family sometime soon. But...we'll see about that....

If you want to check out and/read about Aliyah's birth and first pictures you can see it on my Mother and Child blog or by just clicking here.

 My Mother and Child blog is about just being a mother to my three children and it's every day life, which kinda goes along with Child ADHD Info. So, please feel free to subscribe to both blogs if you'd like :)

As always, thanks for reading!!