Crapola...AGAIN!

The nurse came early today so I could go take my mom to a dinner on the grounds at the cemetery where her family is buried. When I took her home, Dad was gone fishing with my brother, so I went home to rest so Mom could rest as well. I had barely been home when my phone rang and my brother told me the ambulance was on the way to get Dad. Dad had passed out in the boat, thrown up, and soiled his clothes. My brother thought it was over! He brought Dad around and took him home where the ambulance was waiting. Dad had to take a shower and change clothes before he would see the ambulance attendants. They checked him out, but he was very, very pale. We spent a couple more hours at the ER where they did all kinds of tests. They wanted to keep him overnight, but he convinced the doc he would rest better at home. The tests didn't show anything major, but he could have had a slight heart attack or slight stroke. The CT scan had not been read yet, but my brother took him home. I spent most of the ER time out in the waiting room where there were some soft chairs because I could not sit on the hard chairs in his ER cubical.

Feeling better

Finally things are beginning to look up. I am feeling better. The wound is healing really well. I even looked at it today and saw that it was closing up in the middle before the ends. It was 4 inches long, so now I have to be careful not to pull that apart that has hooked back together.

Very disturbing...

I have been battling diarrhea for the 3 weeks that I have been out of the hospital. Part of that time I was taking an antibiotic that had that for a side effect, but I have been off all antibiotics for a week. Today I went back to the doctor. When I told him what was happening, we discovered that I came home from the hospital with a prescripton for colchicine with instructions to take 4 times a day. When I told him that, he said he had never written a prescription for that for 4 times a day. The pharmacy must have misread it. He is sure that is what has been causing the diarrhea. It's been so bad that I could not eat and my whole body is just incredibly weak from dehydration and no food. Now I have another med for the stomach distress. I am really, really tired of being sick. Today I have been able to eat a few crackers and some gatorade. A few minutes ago, I ate some watermelon. We'll see how things go tonight. Yesterday, I was ready for someone to just kick the dirt in on me. That's how bad things have been.

same ol' stuff

Not much has changed. I went to lunch with the ladies yesterday, but couldn't stay long. I just can't sit for very long. I have already opted out of a lunch honoring my friend's father at Barksdale Air Force Base tomorrow. He was a P.O.W. and is honored every year there. Tomorrow is my dad's birthday and I have already opted out of going to dinner at our favorite catfish place because it is too far away and I can't sit that long. Tomorrow is our krewe's Cochon de Lait and golf tournament, so I am missing that as well. Let's face it. I am just still a mess! I just hope I can make it to Dad's house long enough to say happy birthday...he's 86!

Continuing to improve...

I am able to sit longer at a time now and actually went to Wal Mart for groceries yesterday morning while everyone was at church. Then I went to my brother's for lunch for the first time in 4 weeks. I am able to do a little more around the house, but mostly I just lie down. My neighbor came across the street on his riding lawn mower and mowed my yard today. I have awesome neighbors. My brother was going to do it, but I called him and told him he didn't have to this time.

The home health nurse told me I probably had two to three more weeks before the hole closed up completely, but it is healing from the bottom up like it is supposed to. It is not as deep as it once was. They measure it once a week to compare.

Ouch!

The last two days there was pain when the packing was removed from the wound. Today the nurse said it is healing and growing to the gauze in the 24 hours since it was changed, so she packed it with less gauze today. The gauze is soaked with saline solution and they wet it again before pulling it out to help it come out easily. Those home health people are fabulous.

I am feeling better, but I still will not take the chance of going somewhere where I have to sit such as a restaurant. I have missed the last 4 weeks going to lunch with the ladies. Maybe next week.

Progressing

I spent 2 hours in the surgeon's office this morning just waiting. I was just about to walk out when he finally came in. He looked...said it looks good...come back in 2 weeks. I am NOT going back.

This afternoon I was able to get out on the new street behind my house and walk a little bit. I have to get some strength back.

Another update

Back to doc today and I am much better. Blood work improved. Pain not as intense. As always, I try to find the silver lining in all adversity....I found it today. Since Thursday at doc's office, I have lost 9 pounds! I don't recommend this diet!

Brief update again..

Today I feel like I turned the corner. Perhaps it was all the prayers that I know were said today. Sitting is still not much of an option, but the pain is less. The second abscess is getting smaller and less painful. A friend of mine who works at the hospital sent me an email telling me how very, very, serious this MRSA is and that I must do everything exactly as told for as long as I am told. I will do that!

Brief update...

I am still very sick. Went back to doc today about the other place at the base of my tailbone that has been hurting badly. It's another abscess. He did not open it, but ordered more antibiotics and meds for yeast. Also got a celestone shot because my gout still really hurts. I need your prayers to be healed from this very serious malady. I'm a mess!!!

Quick post

I'm not feeling this, but I have a few faithful readers who deserve an update. I have been in the hospital since Thursday with a peri-rectal abscess with secondary MRSA staph infection. It was bad and I had emergency surgery on Friday to lance it. The spread was bad and I am still very sick. Got home yesterday. Can't sit here and type....in fact, can't sit at all. More later!

A RANT

These words are most often misused and it drives me bonkers. It even happens on professional signs, webpages, TV ads....it's freakin' everywhere!

• its = possession.....no apostrophe EVER
• it's= it is
• their= possession
• there= a place
• they're= they are
• your= possession
• you're=you are

When I was a teacher, I harped on this...but, alas, no one learned!

AT&T Bozos...once again!

They made me send in the rebate info twice. Two days after I sent it in the second time, I received my rebate card worth $50 as promised. Of course, they had not yet received the info I submitted the second time. Last week I got a text message that my rebate had been mailed. OK. Whatever! Today I got a second $50 rebate card and NO, I am not honest enough to send it back. The damn phone was way overpriced anyway and I don't want to reward incompetence!! I'm off to buy some more plants.....woohoo....free stuff!

No Pain!

My shoulder snapped out of it as quickly as it snapped in it. Only a couple of hours of pain were involved and then it was gone! I'm glad it did because I was committed to helping clean my friend's new house on Saturday preparing it for her move on Wednesday. There were six of us who pulled together and got it ready.

I bit the bullet and ordered a new battery for my Ipod. It came with the instructions and the tool to replace the battery. There are two tiny little screws that have to be removed. Well, one of them would not come out and I managed to strip the little area where the phillips head screwdriver goes. Now, what do I do? I have no idea. CRAP!

Payback?

Punishment was tossed on me for being such a slacker today. It has rained all day, so I became a hermit and just slept a lot and watched bad TV. I jumped up off the bed ( and yes, I always jump off the bed) and heard/felt something pop between my shoulder and neck. O my gosh! The pain was monumental and I could barely move my neck and arm. Since then I have managed to take some aspirins and lie on a heating pad and the pain is not as intense now, but, WOW, that really hurt and for no apparent reason. How does one explain to others when they ask what happened? I think I'll just stay home so I won't see anyone to have to explain what a dork I am.

My day in Bullets!

• Thursday lunch with the ladies



• bought pie at the restaurant to take to Mom and Dad



• mowed all my grass



• took pie to Mom and Dad



• bought boiled crawfish and ate them



• watered all the plants



• baked 12 big cookies



• took long hot bath



• watched Survivor



• ate warm cookies and cold milk



• off to bed for a night of watching TV

I surely wasn't a slacker today, but it goes in cycles. Some days I am a waste of skin!

It never ends!

I just finished paying my Louisiana income tax, which wasn't really due until May 15th. Now I have to pay my estimated Louisiana income tax for this year, which is due April 15th! I don't want another BIG surprise when my taxes get done next year, so I am paying in advance this time.

I'm such a slacker....

Until the garden at Dad's dries up some, I can't work in it so today I just hung out at my house not doing much. After yesterday, I needed to just kick back and chill. All day yesterday was spent taking both my mom and my dad to the eye doctor in Shreveport. That may not sound like much, but trust me, it's very trying! There were some other places they wanted to go, but neither of them could see after having their eyes dilated, so we came home. Still, it killed a whole day.

Parrotheads....

Saturday night was our Captain's Party for the Krewe des Ambassadeurs. It was awesome at the lake house of one of our members. Cheeseburgers in Paradise was the main food. It's a great idea for a party. We had our own DJ, who is also a krewe member, a margarita machine furnished by yet another krewe member. It was a good time! I'm just not the party animal that I used to be! Thank goodness for that!!

My hummers are back!

I hit the ground running this morning because the yard needed to be mowed before it rained. It was already sprinkling, but I mowed anyway and it hasn't rained yet!

Last year I marked the date that I saw the first hummer...March 26th...so I put the hummingbird feeder out a couple of days ago and saw my first hummer feeding at it today. My mom saw her first ones today as well.I'm armed this year to get some close ups with my new video camera. Of course, I haven't bothered to learn how to upload video to the computer yet. I guess if the need arises, I will learn!