Yay – the 2010 PWD for Pack 106 is over! It was a very busy few days for the all of us who helped out, and while it was fun, I’m glad it’s over until next year!

Jacob’s car won 2nd place overall for speed out of 60 or so cars! It was a very close match-up between his car and the winner’s, but the 1st place competitor was consistently a couple hundredths of a second ahead. My guess is that it came down to superior wheel alignment, which we’ll definitely have to pay more attention to next year. For what it’s worth, we spent most of our “tuning” time on polishing the axles and proper weight placement, but besides ensuring that the car itself went straight, we didn’t worry too much about perfect wheel alignment.

Rebecca’s car was even faster, which I think surprised everyone! She got 4th place in the “Siblings/Adult” race, and was racing against some previous years’ winners, so that’s a very good showing! Mine was an abysmal 10th place – all 3 of the kids beat me soundly!

Another father and I also ran some fun tests to see if “weight in the back” really makes a difference, and the results were interesting: Jacob’s car was consistently faster going forwards (weight in the back) instead of backwards. However, his friend Jake’s car was faster backwards, which we think might be due to a improperly aligned front-wheel causing excess friction against the track. A better experiment could be done easily by just building a simple car using movable weights. The car itself would have to weigh very little, and have the weights be very dense and properly balanced at extreme positions. Maybe next year, I’ll give this a shot for fun.

The debate on 3-wheeled v. 4-wheeled designs continues too! Other packs in the area require all 4 wheels to be on the track, whereas we allow (and even recommend) 3-wheeled cars. The winner this year ran with all 4 wheels, while our cars all used 3-wheel designs, so there might be something to be said for keeping all 4 wheels spinning all the time.

I’m also reconsidering the axle hole style we used: I re-drilled our axle slots using a Dremel-driven drill press instead of cutting new axle shafts. While holes are more stable, they definitely cut down on the amount of adjustment you can do once the wheels are in.

All-told, we had a great time, and are really looking forward to our designs in 2011!

I still haven’t gotten around to posting our vacation pictures, but can tell you we had a whole bunch of fun! Chincoteague island in Virginia was, I think for all of us, the highlight of the trip. We just spent a day there, but it was beautiful and fun and instantly leaped to #1 on our list of places to retire.

Anyway, as the title indicates, Jacob had a recurrence of Lyme last week. We spent another long night in the hospital having a bunch of doctors look at him. I insisted upon a Lumbar Puncture, what with his recent bout with Lyme Menangitis, and luckily it came back clean. So, he’s back on some antibiotics, and of course we’re watching him, and his sisters, closely for any danger signs. For anyone who’s not familiar with Lyme, I highly suggest you do some reading: it’s frightening for sure, but knowing what you’re talking about (and potentially dealing with) can absolutely mean the difference between a treatable infection and life-long debilitation. Feel free to contact either Mary Lou or me with any questions.

Onto more pleasant stuff!

Jacob has entered the Cub Scouts, and I’ve volunteered as an Assistant (Wolf) Den Leader. We’re both looking forward to the activities this year, and I’m really pleased at how enthusiastic he’s being. The meetings are scheduled for Friday nights, which works into our schedules very nicely.

Rebecca is entering the Girl Scouts, too! Her meetings are on Sunday nights, which isn’t as good as Jacob’s, but at least none of her other activities (Karate & Piano right now) will need to be curtailed.

We made a go with Amanda being fully home-schooled this year, but Mary Lou and I agreed that she needs a bit more time in a traditional setting, so she’s back in Grafton Pre-School a few afternoons per week. This is good to give Mary Lou the time she needs with the older two, and allows Amanda to learn at a more comfortable (to her) pace.

We’re getting a Loop-Loc pool cover put on the pool, and both of us are really looking forward to the ease of opening and closing, not to mention the overall safety of it. If you’ve ever dealt with leaf nets and “droopy” pool covers before, you’ll know what I mean! It’s expensive, but we think it’ll be well worth it.

And finally, our siding and roofing is being done shortly – as with almost everyone in this area, our house got pummeled (FYI: this is a first-hand video where the language is NSFW), literally, with the hail storm earlier this year. I was amazed at how much damage there was, and the appraisal, but that’s why we pay for house insurance!

More when I have time!

After a solid month of having a PICC line in his arm, and having to deal with the regular administration of his medicine and LACK of any fun outdoor activity, Jacob finally had the line removed last night. We took him out to dinner to celebrate, but he’s a lot more excited about being able to swim in the pool again – I think he’s going to try to spend the rest of the summer in the water! We’re all glad that the experience is over, and even more thankful that it looks like he’s made a complete recovery!

While we wait for our other family members to recuperate (Amanda broke 3 toes in her left foot, and Mary Lou’s left foot has achilles tendonitis), we’re planning our summer vacation. This year’s itinerary is shaping up like this:

• Camping and Six Flags, Great Adventure in New Jersey
• Grabbing some lunch at Geno’s Steaks or Pat’s King of Steaks for lunch in Philadelphia
• Checking out the roller coasters at King’s Dominion in Virginia
• Camping, fishing, and hanging out the beach at First Landing State Park (Virginia Beach) in Virginia
• A nice drive back up the coast on the outside of the Chesapeake Bay
• Visiting the surprisingly big Bronx Zoo for a couple of days

We’re sure there will be a few on-the-fly changes, but that’s what adventure’s all about, right?

About a week ago, Jacob had a very severe reaction to the medication he was on (Ceftriaxone) for his Lyme Menangitis, and had to be hospitalized for pain control and condition monitoring. As far as we or anyone at UMass Medical can tell, Jacob’s reaction (excruciating joint pain and full-body-rash) is the first of its kind ever – to the point where his case may actually be written up in a medical journal. In any case, we took him in last Friday to administer a different antibiotic (Penecillin, in this case) in a controlled evironment with the hopes that there would be no more adverse reactions, and I’m pleased to report that, thus far, he’s handling it well.

Ceftriaxone is a medication in a group called Cephalosporins; the Doctors have informed us that Jacob is categorically allergic to them.

Ceftriaxone was being admistered daily, but Penecillin needs to be administered every 4 hours. Since this would obviously be too much burden on him (and us) to have to do this manually, Jacob is wearing a pump that he has to carry with him wherever he goes. He was already pretty bummed about the curbing of his activities for the PICC Line, and this additional burden (quite literally) is not making things easier for him. However, we’ve explained why it’s necessary, and are continuing to plan activities that, we hope, will provide an enjoyable distraction for him. He’s also the proud new owner of a couple more Wii games.

He needs to be on Penecillin for the next couple of weeks. As for the underlying cause of all this, the Lyme Menangitis I wrote about last time, we’re hopeful that the full month’s worth of antibiotics (with a few minor interruptions) will have cured him, and he can get back to his usual activities – and we can take a badly needed vacation!

Thanks to everyone who’s expressed sympathy and well wishes during the past few weeks – Mary Lou and I appreciate it greatly!

Jacob was diagnosed with Lyme Disease last week – specifically, the Early Disseminated Infection stage. What this means is that the Lyme Disease progressed into his Central Nervous System, but luckily for us, we caught it in time before any really serious damage was done (at least, that’s what we’re being told and what we’re hoping). We had some time in the emergency room once we figured out what was happening, followed by a stay in the hospital for two procedures: a Lumbar Puncture to confirm the diagnosis, and then a PICC line to allow us to administer his antibiotics.

The staff at UMass Medical was, throughout the ordeal, fantastic. They kept us well informed and accommodated, and answered all of our questions patiently and completely. I have to admit that I was initially opposed to the L.P., but they explained why it was necessary, and the high risks of not proceeding with it. After the results turned up positive for Lyme Meningitis, obviously it was the right call. We had a great cast of doctors, from the interns and nurses to the head of the Pediatrics Infectious Diseases department, and everyone took great care to make sure that Jacob was comfortable and well-cared for.

We have to administer medication through the PICC line every day for the next 24 days, with some nurse and doctor visits scattered throughout. Jacob is not a big fan of the apparatus attached to his left arm, but we explained the necessity of it, and he’s taking it in stride. So far, he’s been struggling with both headaches and nausea, but we’re hopeful that this is temporary.

In any case, Jacob was treated to 24×7 entertainment in the hospital, including a Nintendo Wii with a whole bunch of games – this was a special Wii unit provided through the Starlight/Child Life program at UMass. I’d been steadfastly resisting the purchase of any console for the kids, given the expensive computer they have in the family room, but I have to admit that he had a ton of fun with it, that it made the hospital stay much more bearable for him, and that he was actually a little crestfallen that he had to leave the Wii behind when his stay ended. So, Mary Lou and I discussed it, and decided it was a good thing to get a Wii for the family so that Jacob’s curtailed activities (no karate, no pool, nothing too physical, etc.) wouldn’t bum him out too much.

I normally make these types of electronics purchases online, but we wanted it quickly to keep his spirits high, so a quick trip to our local Target store did the trick. He and his older sister were really getting into Clone Wars Lightsaber Duels before we had to shut things down for the night. I think Amanda is, unfortunately, still too young to play these games, but we’re hopeful that she’ll get into the groove soon.

So, we’re hopeful and nervous about Jacob’s condition, but are pleased that he’s being so effectively distracted from his parents’ anxiety and his own discomfort by the Wii. And I’m frankly intrigued by the possibility of getting Mary Lou into video gaming with the kids.