"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."
Theo didn't have school this week, but he still had therapy which kept us busy. On Monday, November 21st, Theo had PT and OT and I went to a parent/teacher conference at his school. I met with is teacher, Ms. Kate, and his school OT, Ms. Karlie. We chatted about Theo and about the progress that he is making in class. They have been working on using buttons and other forms of communication in the classroom in the hopes that Theo will stop yelling. I've been working on that a lot at home too. Ms. Karlie then told me she was using hand-under-hand to help Theo interact with some toys. She said when they were done Theo took his right hand and helped his left hand get the toys! I've seen him do this at home too and it's so cute! Just like everyone else, they are very excited for Theo to see the Epilepsy Specialist this week. They know he can learn so much more if he was awake more. I agree!
That night I had my first Zoom with my new "Windsor Hills Owner-Friends" group. This Zoom was set up by a fellow owner and it's just so that we can "meet" other owners and talk about our properties. There were only seven of us on the Zoom and hopefully more will join us next month.
Theo didn't have any seizures today.
The next morning (Tuesday, November 22nd), I had a Zoom meeting with the WH House HOA. It was quick and painless. I was the only non-board member on the call, but I like to know what's going on in the community.
At noon I called the Holland America customer service line to see where they were with my case. It's been over a month since I talked to them, so they must have made some progress, right? Nope. Luckily I was only on hold for 75 minutes when someone answered. He looked into my case and said they were still working on it. Ugh.
That afternoon I took Theo to OT and then I went and got my allergy shots.
Theo had one seizure today.
Wednesday, November 23rd:
Instead of cooking a big meal for Thanksgiving, Josh and I just ordered a few things from the Hive. While I was with Theo and Ms. Jen for feeding therapy, Josh ran over to the Hive and picked up our order. After therapy I headed to the mall for a Red Cross blood drive.
Theo didn't have any seizures today!
Happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?!
We had a nice, low key day at home. We watched the parade (tradition!) and at noon we had Thanksgiving lunch. We got mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, green bean casserole, corn bread, and turkey from the Hive. It was all delicious!
After lunch we had pie, watched the football game, and decorated for Christmas!
[Aren't they adorable?!]
At 6:00 PM we had another round of Thanksgiving food and pie. It was perfect!
Theo didn't have any seizures today, but he did take multiple naps!
Josh left early the next morning (Friday, November 25th) and drove all the way to northeastern Ohio. He had found a lady online who was selling a new Gazelle stander. Josh did his research and corresponded with the lady about the stander. It seemed like everything was in order and she was selling it for a VERY reasonable price (brand new they are over $3500).
Josh got to their house, loaded up the stander, paid the lady, and made the long drive home.
Once he got home he assembled the stander and started showing me some of the features.
I started adjusting it and taking pictures and that's when I noticed a smell. Oh crap. The stander smelled like cigarette smoke.
"If something seems too good to be true, it probably is."
I knew there had to be a reason why she was selling it so cheap. She told Josh that it's been sitting in their closet for the last year because her son was scare of it. So, it had a year to absorb all that cigarette smoke. It isn't awful, but it's enough that I had to get that smell out before Theo could use it. Third hand smoke is a real thing and I don't need my son who is recovering from pneumonia to inhale that crap.
I hopped on FB and asked my fellow special needs parents how to get cigarette smoke out of this kind of fabric. I got a TON of responses! Most people recommended scrubbing it down with baking soda, white vinegar, and dish soap and then leaving it outside to air out and dry. They also recommended taking it to a car wash and spraying it down with a different mixture of cleaning sprays.
I made a list and got to work on it the next morning.
I did multiple rounds of baking soda, vinegar, and dish soap, but it still smelled.
[Sitting up so super strong!]
[Food play with yogurt]
I washed the stander three times while it was outside and then we put it in the garage overnight to dry.
I was upset when I got up the next morning and could still smell the smoke. Just being around the stander was irritating my throat. I have to get this thing clean!
Josh helped me disassemble the stander and I was able to soak the pads in the tub.
I did three rounds of baking soda, dish soap, and vinegar and another round of laundry detergent.
I scrubbed all the pieces and rinsed them off after every round, but they still smelled. I dried off the pads and put them in our guest room. I bought a few different sprays and an ozone machine. They should be here in the next few days. Hopefully those will come through and we can actually use the stander.
I'm just really mad. They had to have known that the stander smelled. How could they not? But they didn't warn us before Josh drove 11 hours to get it. It's insanely inconsiderate. If you smoke you smell, your house smells, your clothes smell, your stuff smells. It doesn't matter if you don't think you smell or if you can't smell it. Cigarette smoke smells and it smells BAD! And it's toxic. First, second, and third hand smoke is toxic. My mind is just blown and I'm so upset.
Josh spent his weekend working on redlines. His current project is wrapping up. He deserves a break!
P.S. Please don't smoke. Not only are you killing yourself, you are killing those around you.
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