I find that I get different reactions when I tell people that Tom is in Korea for a year. I’ve probably even written about them before. I decided to make a list of the different reactions that I’ve received, as I’ve found some humorous.
-------------------------
ANGER
Me: My husband is in Korea for a year.
Them: Why would you allow that?
Me: I know it’s important for my husband to serve his country and he didn’t feel he was doing that here.
Them: But for him to just take off and leave his family!
Me: It’s okay. We get to talk to him on Skype.
Them: Still.
Me: Really, it’s okay, I’m an Only Child so I don’t mind it. I actually like having the bed to myself.
Them: *Blinks* Don’t you know that hookers run rampant over there? What if your husband sleeps with a hooker?
Me: Then I’ll take him for half of everything he has. Which isn’t much.
Them: How can you joke at a time like this? Your husband left and might be hanging around HOOKERS.
Me: I wonder if he can get me a picture. I’ve always wanted to see a Korean hooker.
---------------------------------
SORROW
Me: My husband is in Korea for a year.
Them: Oh my God, you poor thing. How are you holding up?
Me: I’m okay, thank you.
Them: Don’t you just want to cry every night?
Me: Um. No.
Them: I’d want to cry every night. In fact, I’m tearing up right now, excuse me. You poor, poor thing.
Me: I’m okay.
Them: If you ever need someone to talk to, I know a good therapist.
Me: I don’t think that’ll be necessary, I have a blog, I don’t need a therapist.
------------------------
HAPPY
Me: My husband is in Korea for a year.
Them: Woohoo, freedom from the man!
Me: ?????
Them: Isn’t it awesome to do whatever you want?
Me: Er? Within reason.
Them: You can buy whatever you want and they’ll never know!
Me: Well, my husband would know, he just looks at the bank statement. I actually got lectured over the amount I spent at Target.
Them: You can have boyfriends over!
Me: (A little afraid) Well, seeing as I made a vow when I got married to forsake all others, there are no boyfriends. Unless you count John Krasinksi, but he doesn’t know I exist so...
----------------------
OVERLY DRAMATIC
Me: My husband is in Korea for a year.
Them: A year? An entire year? A whole year? What are you going to do without him for a year? How will you cope?
Me: I’ll be fine. I have two kids to keep me busy.
Them: An entire year? Will your kids even recognize their father when he comes back?
Me: Thanks to the invention of Skype, yes.
Them: What are you going to do? What happens if something breaks? What if you die in your sleep? Then what?
Me: I guess I’d hope that my son would call the police and not pig out on junk food and dance naked around my carcass while eating my Ho Hos that I won’t let him have.
---------------------------
KNOW IT ALL
Me: My husband is in Korea for a year.
Them: Oh, no biggie, at least it’s not Afghanistan.
Me: True. Though Korea isn’t exactly the safest place in the world.
Them: But it’s not Afghanistan and plus, my husband was once deployed for 18 months. A year is nothing.
Me: Um.
Them: At least it’s not Afghanistan. Korea is nothing. Korea is like a vacation.
Me: Kiss my pale ass. (No, I’m kidding, I didn’t say that but I do think this.)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
John Singleton Copley & The Ermine Drape
.What a lovely drape for a portrait. I wish they had similar drapes when I was in school, and the photographers draped black velvet capelets over our shoulders. These ermine Turkish style robes were the perfect complement to the classical portrait costume, in which ladies could be portrayed as timeless entities. No constricting stays, no whims of constantly changing fashion, just a fanciful portrait costume placing them in the ancient cultures so popular during the 18th century.
1761 English Mezzotint by Artist Thomas Frye after a painting of Maria, Countess of Coventry
1763 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Elizabeth Byles (Mrs. Gawen Brown).
+Wadsworth+Athenaeum1st-gallery-art.com.jpg)
1767 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Ann Dumaresq (Mrs. William Turner)+MFA+(2).jpg)
1767 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Elizabeth Cross (Mrs. Joseph Green)..jpg)
1771 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Hannah Fitch (Mrs. Joseph Barrell)..
1761 English Mezzotint by Artist Thomas Frye after a painting of Maria, Countess of Coventry
1763 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Elizabeth Byles (Mrs. Gawen Brown).+Wadsworth+Athenaeum1st-gallery-art.com.jpg)
1767 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Ann Dumaresq (Mrs. William Turner)+MFA+(2).jpg)
1767 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Elizabeth Cross (Mrs. Joseph Green)..jpg)
1771 John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). Hannah Fitch (Mrs. Joseph Barrell)..
Let's Go To The Movies
Let me start off by saying that I love Redbook magazine.
But sometimes I don’t understand their articles. Or most of the fashion that is depicted. Still, I really enjoy getting my copy in my mailbox each month.
This article caught my eye and made me laugh.
Mainly because it basically told me NOT to do everything I DO when I go to the movies.
For starters, I always get butter on my popcorn even though Hungry Girl warns that this means my popcorn can be 1500 calories. She states that popcorn is already seasoned enough and that extra butter isn’t necessary.
Um.
No butter on popcorn reminds me of eating salted Styrofoam. Not that I’ve ever had Styrofoam but that’s how I imagine it would taste. I have to get butter. In fact, there are times when I say, “Extra butter, please.”
Hungry Girl would be pleased to know that I do order a Diet Coke, although she says that water is better. But water and popcorn taste boring to me. I must have a soda to go with it.
I do get the nachos even though Hungry Girl says NEVER to get them because they are apparently 1,200 calories. I don’t care. I love the nachos. I get mine with jalapeños. However, I usually get the popcorn OR the nachos. I rarely have both, unless I’m very, very hungry. Or PMSing.
I also bring my own snacks, but not nuts. I sneak in Sno Caps, because I can find them for a buck and I refuse to fork over three bucks at the cinema. I mix the Sno Caps with my popcorn for a salty/sweet treat.
Hungry Girl mentions that it’s best to share items bought at the cinema and…well, Tom and I usually get our own stuff when we go. This is because Tom is male and eats food faster than Charlie Sheen can spot a bar. When I’m with friends I share. But some of them like popcorn without the butter, which as I’ve stated before I don’t like, so then I’m stuck with all my buttery goodness.
And now I’m craving movie theater nachos. Anyone want to go to the movies with me? We can see the new Adam Sandler film Just Go With It.
But sometimes I don’t understand their articles. Or most of the fashion that is depicted. Still, I really enjoy getting my copy in my mailbox each month.
This article caught my eye and made me laugh.
Mainly because it basically told me NOT to do everything I DO when I go to the movies.
For starters, I always get butter on my popcorn even though Hungry Girl warns that this means my popcorn can be 1500 calories. She states that popcorn is already seasoned enough and that extra butter isn’t necessary.
Um.
No butter on popcorn reminds me of eating salted Styrofoam. Not that I’ve ever had Styrofoam but that’s how I imagine it would taste. I have to get butter. In fact, there are times when I say, “Extra butter, please.”
Hungry Girl would be pleased to know that I do order a Diet Coke, although she says that water is better. But water and popcorn taste boring to me. I must have a soda to go with it.
I do get the nachos even though Hungry Girl says NEVER to get them because they are apparently 1,200 calories. I don’t care. I love the nachos. I get mine with jalapeños. However, I usually get the popcorn OR the nachos. I rarely have both, unless I’m very, very hungry. Or PMSing.
I also bring my own snacks, but not nuts. I sneak in Sno Caps, because I can find them for a buck and I refuse to fork over three bucks at the cinema. I mix the Sno Caps with my popcorn for a salty/sweet treat.
Hungry Girl mentions that it’s best to share items bought at the cinema and…well, Tom and I usually get our own stuff when we go. This is because Tom is male and eats food faster than Charlie Sheen can spot a bar. When I’m with friends I share. But some of them like popcorn without the butter, which as I’ve stated before I don’t like, so then I’m stuck with all my buttery goodness.
And now I’m craving movie theater nachos. Anyone want to go to the movies with me? We can see the new Adam Sandler film Just Go With It.
Hodgepodging on Ground Hog Day 2011
I look forward to Hodgepodge every week to see how different/alike we all are. Enjoy my answers and feel free to leave me some comments. I love reading them.
1. Would you rather be seen as a person who did their duty or forged their own path?
I am a school teacher and tend to do my duty. I occassionally love to forge a new path....but in teaching that means extra paper work.
2. This week's Wednesday Hodgepodge happens to fall on Groundhog's Day. In keeping with that theme, if you could have a do-over of any one day out of the last seven, which day would it be and why. I would love to live Saturday over again and again. Frank was at school and my friend Mary spent the night with me on Friday and we explored on Saturday. Since the move we have not had much together time....and it was so much fun. You thought my question was going to be weather related didn't you?
3. Hot cocoa...yay or nay on the marshmallows? I like it both ways....in front of a roaring fire...yay on the marshmallows....in a rush....nay. I know I prefer marshmallows out of a bag when I am having them....those hot chocolates with the stuff posing as marshmallows I do not care for at all.
4. Do you wear makeup every day? What are the top two must haves in your daily makeup routine? I do not ever wear makeup. Well....I wear mascara because without it you cannot see my eye lashes. I wear makeup when I am singing with Still Magnolias....so I do own some stuff.
5. Is it more important to you in a relationship to be loved or understood? I want to be loved. Frank loves me and although he does not always understand me....he accepts me as I am.
6. Parsley sage rosemary or thyme... your favorite. I love cooking with spices and herbs. I even use some for medicinal purposes. Sage is great for sores in your mouth. But if I had to choose a personal favorite it would be rosemary. I love to grow it, to smell it, to cook with it. I love the headiness of its fragrance.
7. What do you do when you feel angry? I sing....loud. I cry.....I talk to myself....I talk out loud to God.....I eat if none of the others work.
8. What is your favorite genre of music and why? Mine is....well....I like some country and western (Martina McBride - In My Daughter's Eyes), I love classic rock (Kansas - Dust in the Wind), I love a little of most...Led Zepplin, KISS....my tastes are varied ....except rap. I just don't like it. I have tried...but it is just not there....Toby Mac is about the closest I can say I get to liking Rap music. My students did a report on Costa Rican music yesterday...and I don't even like theirs....the song they played was called Whappen to Dem. It was just off-beat talking..so once again I was not impressed. Drop me a line and let me know what your favorite music is....and why. I would love to here your answers. Happy Wednesday and Ground Hog Day!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Copley's Concern About Being "A True Artist"
.
I have been fretting about John Singleton Copley's worry that as a painter living in the Anglo American colonies, he was just an artisan painting portraits. He longed to become a true artist whose paintings elevated society. His artist stepfather Peter Pelham, a professional purvayor of culture and art who immigrated to Boston from England in the 1720s, would have been well aware of the discussion of the lofty status of an artist in England.
Recently, while reading the earliest copies of the Maryland Gazette on the Maryland State Archives website, I came upon this article, and I understood Copley's tension and disappointment more clearly. The composition is surely a reflection on Horace's Ars poetica, "Ut pictura poesis" -- "as is painting, so is poetry."
This essay first appeared in England called The Free Thinker in 1718. It appeared in Maryland in ten years later in 1728, in the 3rd issue of the first Maryland newspaper ever printed.
The Maryland Gazette From Tuesday, December 17, to Tuesday, December 24, 1728.
Ut Pitura Poesses erit. --
Sir,
The Verses, in the Close of this Paper, furnish me with a proper Occasion to make a few Reflections, upon Poetry and Painting, which may not be unacceptable to such as delight in Either, or Both, of These Arts.
The surprizing Excellency, which is peculiar to a Great Poet, is the Skill of conveying to Another, by the Help of Words, those just and lively Ideas, which rise in his Imagination, in the same Force and Perspicuity, as He himself conceives them. Words, in His Disposal, are Things : And, the Deception proves so strong, that the Reader forgets he is perusing a Piece of Writing or, at least, takes the Poem for a Book of Magick, which (as he passes from one Period to another) surrounds him with amazing Objects and drives him from Passion to Passion ; transporting him into Joys and Griefs, Pleasures and Pains, with a Violence not to be refilled.
The Perfection of a Master-Painter is, to be able to perform the same Wonders by Colours, which the Poet commands by Language. His Ideas pass from his Mind into his Pencil, and rise upon the Canvas in their full Vigour and Proportion. His every Touch is a Creation : The Canvas is no longer a level, lifeless Surface ; but a Scene, diversify with Buildings, Mountains, Forrests; or, perhaps, a Sea, deformed with Tcmpels ; a Sky, enraged with Storms, flashing out Lightning; and Clouds, bursting with Thunder : Or, a Field of War, stained with Blood, and filled with Uproar and Confusion : Or, perhaps, the silent, solitary Retreat of Sorrow and Despair ; or, if he pleases, the Enchanted Bower of Bliss, the Residence of Love and Beauty.
Such is the Efficacy of Words and Numbers; and such the Energy of Lights and Shades, under the Conduct of a superiour Genius : Both equally wonderful in their Operations; both equally Pleasing: But not alike Infinitive; in which Point, the Poet unquestionably claims Preminence over the Painter.
It would be hard to determine which of these Two Arts require the greater Power of Imagination, the longer Term of Experience and the more unwearied Application. It seems equally difficult to paint in Words, or in Colours; so as to impose the One upon the Reader, and the Other on the Beholder, for Realities. The Great Poet, and the Great Painter, think alike : But, They express their Thoughts by very difierent Powers. The Painter's Language is his Colours : The Poet's Colours are his Diction. The strongest Colouring will fade ; and the most significant Words grow obsolete. Many of the most celebrated Writings of Antiquity are preserved : The Paintings are all perished. The Painter is equally understood in all Nations: And the Poet can distribute every One of his Performances into the Hands of all his Countreymen.
The Poet and the Painter may mutually improve one another, by judiciously perusing each others Works. The Similitudes, the Descriptions, and Metaphors of the One ; the Landskips, Figures, and Postures, of the Other, equally tend to regulate, and enliven, the Imagination. The violent Motions of Nature are so very Transient, that it is diffcult to catch distinct Ideas of them from the Life: Whereas, when a Great Painter has fixed a Passion in a Face, the Poet may there study the Workings of it in the Features, at his Leisure: And the Painter may, in his Turn, receive the like Advantage from the Poet.
It is true, the greatest Skill in these Artists, when they arrive to the Perfection of copying happily One from the Other. There is not the least Resemblance between Words and Colours, as there is between different Languages : And therefore, it requires a strong Faculty of Imaging, and a just Manner of Thinking, to be able to Translate out of One of These into the Other, without loosing the Spirit.
To read the Maryland Gazette online go to
http://aomol.net/html/mdgazette.html
Throughout the 18th century, the Maryland Gazette was published in Annapolis, Maryland. Annapolis, Anne Arundel County: Printed by W. Parks, 1727-1734; Printed by Jonas Green and William Rind, 1758-1765; Printed by Jonas Green, 1765-1767; Printed by Anne C. Green, 1767; Printed by Anne C. and William Green, 1768-1770; Printed by Anne C. Green, 1770-1771; Printed by Anne C. Green and Son, 1772-1775; Printed by Frederick Green, 1776-1777; Printed by Frederick and Samuel Green, 1779-1811. .
I have been fretting about John Singleton Copley's worry that as a painter living in the Anglo American colonies, he was just an artisan painting portraits. He longed to become a true artist whose paintings elevated society. His artist stepfather Peter Pelham, a professional purvayor of culture and art who immigrated to Boston from England in the 1720s, would have been well aware of the discussion of the lofty status of an artist in England.
Recently, while reading the earliest copies of the Maryland Gazette on the Maryland State Archives website, I came upon this article, and I understood Copley's tension and disappointment more clearly. The composition is surely a reflection on Horace's Ars poetica, "Ut pictura poesis" -- "as is painting, so is poetry."
This essay first appeared in England called The Free Thinker in 1718. It appeared in Maryland in ten years later in 1728, in the 3rd issue of the first Maryland newspaper ever printed.
The Maryland Gazette From Tuesday, December 17, to Tuesday, December 24, 1728.
Ut Pitura Poesses erit. --
Sir,
The Verses, in the Close of this Paper, furnish me with a proper Occasion to make a few Reflections, upon Poetry and Painting, which may not be unacceptable to such as delight in Either, or Both, of These Arts.
The surprizing Excellency, which is peculiar to a Great Poet, is the Skill of conveying to Another, by the Help of Words, those just and lively Ideas, which rise in his Imagination, in the same Force and Perspicuity, as He himself conceives them. Words, in His Disposal, are Things : And, the Deception proves so strong, that the Reader forgets he is perusing a Piece of Writing or, at least, takes the Poem for a Book of Magick, which (as he passes from one Period to another) surrounds him with amazing Objects and drives him from Passion to Passion ; transporting him into Joys and Griefs, Pleasures and Pains, with a Violence not to be refilled.
The Perfection of a Master-Painter is, to be able to perform the same Wonders by Colours, which the Poet commands by Language. His Ideas pass from his Mind into his Pencil, and rise upon the Canvas in their full Vigour and Proportion. His every Touch is a Creation : The Canvas is no longer a level, lifeless Surface ; but a Scene, diversify with Buildings, Mountains, Forrests; or, perhaps, a Sea, deformed with Tcmpels ; a Sky, enraged with Storms, flashing out Lightning; and Clouds, bursting with Thunder : Or, a Field of War, stained with Blood, and filled with Uproar and Confusion : Or, perhaps, the silent, solitary Retreat of Sorrow and Despair ; or, if he pleases, the Enchanted Bower of Bliss, the Residence of Love and Beauty.
Such is the Efficacy of Words and Numbers; and such the Energy of Lights and Shades, under the Conduct of a superiour Genius : Both equally wonderful in their Operations; both equally Pleasing: But not alike Infinitive; in which Point, the Poet unquestionably claims Preminence over the Painter.
It would be hard to determine which of these Two Arts require the greater Power of Imagination, the longer Term of Experience and the more unwearied Application. It seems equally difficult to paint in Words, or in Colours; so as to impose the One upon the Reader, and the Other on the Beholder, for Realities. The Great Poet, and the Great Painter, think alike : But, They express their Thoughts by very difierent Powers. The Painter's Language is his Colours : The Poet's Colours are his Diction. The strongest Colouring will fade ; and the most significant Words grow obsolete. Many of the most celebrated Writings of Antiquity are preserved : The Paintings are all perished. The Painter is equally understood in all Nations: And the Poet can distribute every One of his Performances into the Hands of all his Countreymen.
The Poet and the Painter may mutually improve one another, by judiciously perusing each others Works. The Similitudes, the Descriptions, and Metaphors of the One ; the Landskips, Figures, and Postures, of the Other, equally tend to regulate, and enliven, the Imagination. The violent Motions of Nature are so very Transient, that it is diffcult to catch distinct Ideas of them from the Life: Whereas, when a Great Painter has fixed a Passion in a Face, the Poet may there study the Workings of it in the Features, at his Leisure: And the Painter may, in his Turn, receive the like Advantage from the Poet.
It is true, the greatest Skill in these Artists, when they arrive to the Perfection of copying happily One from the Other. There is not the least Resemblance between Words and Colours, as there is between different Languages : And therefore, it requires a strong Faculty of Imaging, and a just Manner of Thinking, to be able to Translate out of One of These into the Other, without loosing the Spirit.
To read the Maryland Gazette online go to
http://aomol.net/html/mdgazette.html
Throughout the 18th century, the Maryland Gazette was published in Annapolis, Maryland. Annapolis, Anne Arundel County: Printed by W. Parks, 1727-1734; Printed by Jonas Green and William Rind, 1758-1765; Printed by Jonas Green, 1765-1767; Printed by Anne C. Green, 1767; Printed by Anne C. and William Green, 1768-1770; Printed by Anne C. Green, 1770-1771; Printed by Anne C. Green and Son, 1772-1775; Printed by Frederick Green, 1776-1777; Printed by Frederick and Samuel Green, 1779-1811. .
Hey, It's Okay Tuesday!
I got this idea from Glamour magazine. They have a section called Hey, It’s Okay and will list a bunch of things to be okay about. You're welcome to join in and do something like this on your diary. Doesn't have to be on a Tuesday either.
----------------------
To hate the word “baby bump.” Celebrity columnists seem to love this phrase and it makes me cringe.
To be grateful to the people who offered to send me Dunkaroos, which I can never find over here. It's much appreciated but I guess I'll just cheat and dip graham crackers in frosting like others suggested.
To wonder why people want autographs from the girls on Teen Mom. I came across a blog where the blogger went on about how excited she was to meet Maci and how thrilled she was to get her autograph. Um?
To think it’s cool that Henry Cavill, who played Henry VIII’s best friend Charles in The Tudors, was cast as the new Superman. He wasn’t my eye candy on the show. That award went to Torrance Coombs, who played Thomas Culpepper. Henry is nice to look at but he’s just not my type.
To probably be the only one NOT watching the Super Bowl this weekend. I’m rooting for the Packers, only because I like their uniform colors more. Sorry Steelers fans.
To be ready for the Shamrock Shake to return (it comes out in March!)
To love watching Pawn Stars. I need to check out that shop one of these days.
To be freezing. Our high today is -4. I’m ready for summer.
To hope that Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice, stays on track. He was only in rehab for 12 days before checking himself out.
To be curious on what Alexandra from the Dr. Phil family has to say. She’s apparently on the show this Thursday. Her kids have all been taken away from her since she does drugs and she loves to make excuses for herself.
To let the kids watch The Simpsons. I probably shouldn’t seeing as Natalie goes “d’oh” when she’s frustrated at times and she once went, “Mmmmmm. Donuts.” (Of course she probably learned that from me. I get pretty excited when I see a donut.)
----------------------
To hate the word “baby bump.” Celebrity columnists seem to love this phrase and it makes me cringe.
To be grateful to the people who offered to send me Dunkaroos, which I can never find over here. It's much appreciated but I guess I'll just cheat and dip graham crackers in frosting like others suggested.
To wonder why people want autographs from the girls on Teen Mom. I came across a blog where the blogger went on about how excited she was to meet Maci and how thrilled she was to get her autograph. Um?
To think it’s cool that Henry Cavill, who played Henry VIII’s best friend Charles in The Tudors, was cast as the new Superman. He wasn’t my eye candy on the show. That award went to Torrance Coombs, who played Thomas Culpepper. Henry is nice to look at but he’s just not my type.
To probably be the only one NOT watching the Super Bowl this weekend. I’m rooting for the Packers, only because I like their uniform colors more. Sorry Steelers fans.
To be ready for the Shamrock Shake to return (it comes out in March!)
To love watching Pawn Stars. I need to check out that shop one of these days.
To be freezing. Our high today is -4. I’m ready for summer.
To hope that Ted Williams, the homeless man with the golden voice, stays on track. He was only in rehab for 12 days before checking himself out.
To be curious on what Alexandra from the Dr. Phil family has to say. She’s apparently on the show this Thursday. Her kids have all been taken away from her since she does drugs and she loves to make excuses for herself.
To let the kids watch The Simpsons. I probably shouldn’t seeing as Natalie goes “d’oh” when she’s frustrated at times and she once went, “Mmmmmm. Donuts.” (Of course she probably learned that from me. I get pretty excited when I see a donut.)
Babies Having Babies
Monday it seemed that everywhere I looked there was a pregnant girl. When I was a teenager pregnant girls were not allowed to go to school with the general populous. They were ever sent to night school or to some family member in another state where they had the baby and gave it up for adoption. With so many childless parents out there today it makes me wonder why these young girls....who are children themselves....are choosing to have the child and raise it. Answer....they don't raise them....grandma or momma raise them. Most of the young girls who have had, or are currently expecting, still continue on with their youthful high school life. They are on the dance team....they are cheerleaders.....they hang our with friends on Friday night.....there is no consequence for their action. One of my students told me today that she was 5 months pregnant. For someone older I would have been so excited and congratulated her....but I sadly looked at my student and said, "I am so sorry." She looked at me as if I were crazy....but I was sorry. Sorry that her life is going to be interrupted. What could have been a carefree youth....is now going to be filled with baby diapers and 3 am feedings. School is hard enough without that tacked on. But...That is where the problem lies with most of the kids today....there are no consequences. When I got in trouble at school I knew when I got home it would be twice as bad as it was at school....not any more.....but this past week I found out that one of our students has a problem with her baby. Actually she has multiple problems. Back before Christmas she had an amnio and one of the biggies discovered was that this child has gastroschisis. I had no idea what that was....it just sounded horrible.....so I went searching. What I found was not good.....not good at all. Gastroschisis refers to babies born with organs outside the body. Gastroschisis is one of the most frequently encountered congenital anomalies in pediatric surgery. This condition happens about 1 inevery 2,000 births. Gastroschsis is a defect or hole in the abdominal wall that lets the abdominal contents protrude outside the body. There is no peritoneal covering over the intestines and other organs. The hole is usually very small, but the exposed contents can range from the stomach to the rectum (almost all of the large and small intestine and stomach can be involved). The abnormality can be seen by ultra sound as early as 14 weeks of pregnancy. Most often (75% of the time) it occurs with the first born baby. The malformation is always obvious at birth. It is a very frightening experience for new parents, but, in most cases, the defect can be totally repaired and the baby will completely recover. Since the bowel is not contained inside the body, before birth, it floats freely in the amniotic fluid. Contact with the amniotic fluid can cause severe damage. The bowel can fail to grow, become thickened, matted, or shortened with poor mucosal function. The damage becomes more severe with prolonged exposure to the amniotic fluid, especially after thirty-five weeks gestation, so some physicians suggest early Cesarean delivery to limit bowel damage. Sometimes the physician performs weekly ultrasounds from thirty weeks on to watch for bowel wall thickening and when thickening is observed hedelivers the baby by Cesarean delivery to limit bowel damage. There are many studies that claim there are no significant benefits of early Cesarean delivery over vaginal delivery at term.
Immediately after birth, any organs outside the baby's body are covered with warm, moist sterile bandages and then placed inside a special plastic pouch. A nasogastric (NG) tube is placed in the baby's nose or mouth to keep the stomach empty and to prevent chocking on or breathing in any stomach contents. As soon as the infant is stable, surgery is done to put the intestines and organs back into the body. The surgeon examines the intestines to make sure there is no damage and that the edges of the intestines aresealed. The organs are placed back into the abdomen through the defective opening and the opening is repaired. Sometimes all the contents cannot fit back into the abdomen with the first surgery. The remaining intestines are put in the plastic pouch and are slowly pushed back into the abdomen over a period of time. Additional surgeries may be needed to repair the abdominal muscles at a later time. Because the baby's abdomen may be smaller than normal, placing the intestine in the abdomen increases the pressure within the area and may cause breathing difficulties. The baby may need to be placed on a ventilator to breathe for him for a few days or weeks. The baby will be given IV fluids, antibiotics, pain medication and oxygen. An NG tube will be used to keep the stomach empty until the intestines start to work normally and then normal feeding are very slowly started. In most instances gastroschisis can be totally corrected with surgery. I don't think it is the case in this students....because there are so many other problems. Keep her in your prayers and thoughts. It would be an difficult undertaking for a pair of parents who are mature enough to handle it....but for a 16 year old this would be earthshaking.
Immediately after birth, any organs outside the baby's body are covered with warm, moist sterile bandages and then placed inside a special plastic pouch. A nasogastric (NG) tube is placed in the baby's nose or mouth to keep the stomach empty and to prevent chocking on or breathing in any stomach contents. As soon as the infant is stable, surgery is done to put the intestines and organs back into the body. The surgeon examines the intestines to make sure there is no damage and that the edges of the intestines aresealed. The organs are placed back into the abdomen through the defective opening and the opening is repaired. Sometimes all the contents cannot fit back into the abdomen with the first surgery. The remaining intestines are put in the plastic pouch and are slowly pushed back into the abdomen over a period of time. Additional surgeries may be needed to repair the abdominal muscles at a later time. Because the baby's abdomen may be smaller than normal, placing the intestine in the abdomen increases the pressure within the area and may cause breathing difficulties. The baby may need to be placed on a ventilator to breathe for him for a few days or weeks. The baby will be given IV fluids, antibiotics, pain medication and oxygen. An NG tube will be used to keep the stomach empty until the intestines start to work normally and then normal feeding are very slowly started. In most instances gastroschisis can be totally corrected with surgery. I don't think it is the case in this students....because there are so many other problems. Keep her in your prayers and thoughts. It would be an difficult undertaking for a pair of parents who are mature enough to handle it....but for a 16 year old this would be earthshaking.
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