I'm Alive!

My friends were probably wondering what happened to me. Well, I got sick, really sick. Just before we left for Mazatlan I got what I thought were back spasms. Then I developed a cough and it hurt my back to breathe. I went for acupuncture twice and my acupuncturist was concerned when the pain didn't go away, he felt there was something wrong with my heart and lungs. He advised me to go to a Western doctor if I wasn't better after my trip.

Well, I was sick the whole two weeks, finally the Tuesday before we left for home I called a doctor. I figured it was pneumonia and he treated me for that. But I didn't get better, I started getting worse. We had a long flight home that Friday with three layovers, we left at 6:00 A.M. and got home at midnight. I couldn't walk through the airports so I requested wheelchairs.

The next morning, after sleeping sitting up on the couch I got dressed and had Stan drive me to Urgent Care. They flipped out! They took a chest x-ray and started a breathing treatment. When the x-ray was developed the physician's assistant sent me to the hospital, she said my heart was enlarged. She wanted to call an ambulance but I thought it was silly, given that Stan was in the waiting room and I'd survived 18 hours of flying the day before.

After several hours in the ER I was diagnosed with viral pericarditis. The pericardium is a sac around your heart and mine was full of fluid,  my heart was enlarged and my inflammation markers were off the chart. Plus the albuterol from the breathing treatment put me in a fib. I was admitted and spent two hellish days battling with the staff-they didn't care that I was either allergic or sensitive to ask the drugs they gave me. I was sicker when I left the hospital than when I was admitted.

After being discharged I spent the next few weeks sleeping sitting up on the couch. It became obvious that if I didn't want to be sick anymore I'd have to take matters in my own hands, so I started taking colloidal silver. They had told me that the virus in my heart could be any kind-cold, flu, stomach bug-it was in my body and chose to hit my heart. Colloidal silver is a fantastic antiviral and it worked.

I was really sick a total of about 2 1/2 months. Just before my birthday I went for acupuncture and he told me I had really scared him. He did a moxa or mugwort treatment and by Sunday I was almost completely well! Thanksgiving was tough but our great kids came over and did all the cooking and cleanup. By Christmas I was able to do pretty much everything

I still have to be careful, no jogging yet or heavy lifting but I feel so thankful to have survived. I told Stan the best Christmas gift I got was that I got to live. He was pretty happy about that, too! I actually have been knitting and started sewing again just after Christmas.

It's been so cold I made the dogs some sweaters. Chloe loves hers but Merlin hated his and rolled around on the floor until it came off. Silly boy, wait until he gets a haircut, he'll like it then!

These are bowl cozies. You place your bowl of soup or whatever in it and put it in the microwave and it keeps you from burning your fingers when you take it out. I made 24 and gave them as Christmas gifts. 

The grandkids didn't get homemade pajamas this year, I wasn't up to that until too late too get them done.

I quit my job just before we left for Mexico. I do miss it, but there was a situation I couldn't tolerate. I am enjoying my free time very much and I have a burning desire to do tons of sewing and knitting. And I've been asked to give knitting classes at a new craft/gift shop here in town-that should be a real hoot!

Freedom! And 45 Years.

I am finally off my blood pressure medication!  It took two months, but it was very much worth it.  I've increased my walking distance to 1 3/4 miles, my lungs are so very much happier, the pounding in my heart has pretty much gone away, and the tinnitus is lessening.  When I first started walking I couldn't walk a block without wheezing and struggling for air.  Now I can buzz out almost a mile each way!  I cough a little, but I haven't had to stop to catch my breath is many weeks.  I am so grateful to the folks at Gesundheit, my favorite wellness store; my acupuncturist; and my God for getting me through this!  Bonus is, I'm really starting to trim up-no pounds lost yet, but my jeans are baggy-a definite sign.  I expect if I keep up the walking one morning I'll wake up to a stunning weight loss.

I have so much more energy.  I didn't think I was depressed or tired on the Bystolic, but as the dose was decreased, my desire to do things and my stamina improved.  Talking to my son tonight he thought it might have been a very mild depression.  Funny how you don't realize things until you're looking back at them!

My walking companions.  If they think it's time for a walk, they follow me around the house alternating staring at me, sniffing my feet to see if I have the right shoes on, and going to the garage door to hopefully get me to go out and get the leashes.  They are addicted to it.  I'm getting to the point where I get the itch to go out too-the only way one can continue an exercise program is to really enjoy it.

The other good thing about today is that it's our 45th anniversary.  I can't believe that many years have passed-I don't feel any different than I did back then, other than hopefully being a little wiser!  We went to a barbecue place for supper, then tomorrow we'll go to a steakhouse and a movie.  We're hoping to see "The Butler."

Ma and Pa in Mazatlan a couple years ago.

Getting Back my Mojo

My sewing has been nonexistent all summer.  Don't believe I sewed the entire months of June and July.  Of course most of that was spent chasing grandkids and making my heart behave.  Now that it's acting better, thanks to my acupuncturist, my nutritionist, and my own persistence I feel like doing something again.  I'm walking with the dogs about 1 1/4 miles a day, which they absolutely love!  Yesterday I walked uptown to the post office and the coffee shop and they glared at me all day because they couldn't go!  I'm down to 1/2 a dose of my beta blocker, thought I'd do that for two weeks.  Then to 1/4, then off altogether!  I will be so glad, it really messes with my asthma and walking is not easy when you can't breathe.  My body still isn't sure what to do with all that adrenaline that the beta blocker was telling it to ignore.  Been cutting back on stimulants, which helps.

This cute little skirt is from a panel I got off a Jo-Ann's clearance table.  The ruffles are pre-sewn and all you have to do is get a length just a little shorter than the waist measurement and sew up the back.  Grace loved it, but she is hunting for a top to wear with it since everything she owns is either pink or purple!  Might have to do a bit more sewing!  Do you see Chloe's ears?  She is such a ham, anytime the camera comes out she is there!

I really wanted to freshen my top collection, so I did this top.  It's a New Look pattern, but the sleeves are from my tee pattern.  The original pattern is either sleeveless or has fluttery sleeves.  Ladies with chubby arms ought not wear fluttery sleeves!  This is the third time I've made the pattern and it goes together pretty well.

I made another tee, forgot to take a picture of it.  I also made a floaty jacket, something to wear over tanks, I have to get it back to the sewing room so I can photograph it on Alice.  Sigh, Alice has a better shape than I do!

Need to get shots of the baby blanket too.  The baby is due anytime so I'm really trying to make an effort to get it done.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Lots of stuff going on, not sure why it's so busy but here we are at the end of summer.  How did that happen?

I took Sam to Starbucks for his birthday coffee.  He's playing a game on my Kindle.

Started a pair of socks to keep in the car.  It's been just too hot to knit something big, even though I should be. 

I love the colorway in this yarn.  I love this yarn, it's 50% Merino wool, 25% nylon and 25% bamboo.  Soft as a baby's bottom!

The blanket is growing.  I decided to make it for a friend who is due to have a baby next month.  Except she told me that she's been having contractions all day.  I might have to burn some midnight oil!

It's so cool how you just pick up the stitches instead of sewing the squares together.  I think I'd like to make one in two colors and do an even pattern instead of the random I'm doing here.  Gotta get this one done, first!

Still going back and forth to the doctor, but I think I'm on my way to recovery.  By replenishing my potassium I've pretty much stopped the afib and SVT.  But I was having a hard time finding a blood pressure drug that didn't have terrible side effects.  Gotta love allergies!  Anyway, I decided to completely wean myself off all blood pressure meds and control it with diet and exercise, with the blessing of my doctor.  It seems to be going well, it's only been a couple of days but I'm okay.  The doctor prescribed a pill that is half the dose of my current one, so when I started cutting it would be easier.  They are triangular shaped and halving them is fine, but quartering them makes crumbs.  The half dose will cut just fine and will be the equivalent of a quarter of the larger pill.  My acupuncturist is working to help the transition too, and has ordered some Chinese herbs to go along with his work.

I am starting to feel great, so grateful for that!

Isn't this Cute?

Stopped by one of my favorite coffee shops today.  They've remodeled, including the bathroom.  Isn't this a cute idea for a light fixture?

I'm doing better-got on a more compatible blood pressure medication.  Found out I shouldn't have been taking the one I was.  Very dangerous for people with asthma!  I couldn't figure out why my asthma was getting worse and it was so hard to breathe-now I know!  I'm already breathing better and am walking all over the place!  The pharmacist asked if I had tapered off the old pill.  "No," I said, "They told me I could just quit."  No, I should have tapered-I've had a few problems, but nothing dangerous, and I'm almost to the other side.  I truly believe that if I stick to the new pill and the supplements for the heart I will be totally well in no time!  No more emergency rooms for me!

Anyway, if you want a light like that, buy some jars and pebbles and get a drill.  They really are cute!

Getting There

Thought I'd better let you all know I'm still kicking.  I kind of lost three weeks of my life, a couple of bills got paid a little late and my house is a pit, but I'm breathing.  I got really frustrated with the cardiologist-what he wanted to treat me with was making me sicker.  One of my Afib triggers is when my blood sugar drops.  The beta blocker he gave me made my blood sugar drop-huh?  So I was really a mess.  We tried cutting the dose in half but as it built up in my system the side effects got worse and worse.  So I decided to quit it on my own-DON'T EVER STOP THESE DRUGS COLD TURKEY!  Yikes, my blood pressure was on the rise!  So I quickly got back on my old, milder beta blocker.  I added a bunch of supplements, too.  The cardiologist was talking all kinds of procedures and blood thinners but I just don't think I'm ready for that.

So I'm doing acupuncture and yesterday I saw a Chinese herbalist that consults at my local, wonderful, supplement store.  She reinforced what I'm doing and added a couple other things.  She reassured me that I wasn't taking too much potassium, and gave me a little education on how blood levels work with your body.  I was supposed to be there 20 minutes but we talked for over an hour!

At the end of the day I am feeling much, much better, the episodes of Afib and tachycardia are decreasing every day, and I am sleeping like a champ!  I am trying to reduce my stimulants as well, but I think a very healthy body can handle a cup of coffee every now and then.  My blood pressure is perfect and so is my heart rate.

Stan's brother wants to come over Monday to finish a door frame he promised to do a long time ago, so now that I've paid the bills I'd better get the house in some kind of shape so I can entertain his wife.  Stan offered to help and I am holding him to that!!

Millie will finish her pacemaker procedure on Tuesday, prayers are requested for that.  I really hope she ends up with more energy and a better quality of life, poor girl!

Sydney has been here for a little over a week, it's been great to have him back.  He'll spend a couple more weeks with his mom, then back to home for the school year.  I miss the little stinker when he's gone!  So do his cousins, they played and played yesterday.  Syd and Sam will be fast friends their whole lives.  Well, off to the post office then home to clean.  Cheers!

Those Plans...

Remember yesterday when I said I was going to visit Sherry if God didn't have something else planned?  Well He did.  About 7:30 this morning my heart went into supraventricular tachycardia.  Goody, now I have two kinds of heart malfunctions!  Actually had both for many many years but now I have names and a cause.  I called the cardiologist and at 9:45 when they hadn't called back I called them and told them I was going to the emergency room.  "Well, you can have a 1:00 appointment if you like."  Grrrrr-"No, I think this requires more than an appointment." 

Once again I could avoid triage just by saying "heart arrhythmia or chest pains."  Into the wheelchair and off to a trauma room.  Today didn't take as long, all the tests were run last Tuesday.  The ER doctor came in and injected a drug in my IV that would (hopefully) immediately pull me out of tachycardia.  It did, not necessarily a pleasant experience, but it worked.  They watched me for a couple hours and sent me home.  I blame my more recent troubles on the beta blocker the cardiologist gave me, so I'm skipping it tonight and taking my old beta blocker.  The I'll call them tomorrow.  I am just ready for normal!

The blanket is progressing, I'm getting into the next repeat of colors.  It's sitting out on the deck right now, finally got cool enough without rain so I can work outside.  Maybe tomorrow I'll feel well enough to go see Sherry.  Must call her!

Crazy, Crazy!

The saying, "People plan, God laughs" really held true for me this week.  First I agreed to have coffee with my new friend Sherry and a young lady we both know on Monday afternoon.  The young lady grew up with my son and it was great to see her again.  We were having a grand time when Sherry got up to go to the ladies' room.  A little background-the coffee shop tore up their floors and are in the process of varnishing and buffing the concrete that was underneath.  They never thought, however, that it would leave a 3/4" difference between the shop floor and the hallway floor, and the restrooms were down the hallway.  Sherry tripped over the ledge into the hallway onto the slate floor, shattering her kneecap.  Thankfully, the urgent care was right next door so I brought my car as close as I could, loaded her up and drove around to let her off at the entrance to urgent care.  I stayed with her until her husband showed up.  She had surgery the next day to have the very messed up kneecap reassembled.  Poor girl, but she's doing alright, I talked to her Friday and she is even cooking for herself.  I hope to go to her place for coffee and a visit tomorrow unless God has other plans!

Early Tuesday morning, like 3:00, I was woken up suddenly with chest pains.  I rode it out as long as I could and Stan took me to the same urgent care at 8:00.  As we walked in I turned to him and said, "Watch me be pushed to the front of the line."  "No way," he said, "There are others waiting."  I walked up to the desk and said, "I'm having chest pains."  The rest was a blur of wheelchairs, gurneys, EKGs, and nervous nurses who were trying to put in an IV.  The ambulance showed up in seconds, literally.  It's a small town and the EMTs are housed in the fire hall, about 5 blocks from urgent care.

So off I go, a little embarrassed, in the ambulance to the hospital which is 10 miles away.  The EMT told me I probably wasn't having a heart attack-we chatted the whole way in and my pain was mostly gone at that point.  I had a strong feeling it was an esophageal spasm brought on by my lovely acid reflux.  At the hospital they joked I got the VIP room-the trauma room reserved for heart attacks and auto accident victims.

Long story short, I was run through the testing-more (many more) EKGs, CT scans, blood tests, you name it.  At the end of the long day-5:00-it was decided I didn't have a heart attack and they could release me but the ER doctor, a woman, requested that I go to the cardiologist on Friday to have a stress echo test.  She said women present with different heart attack symptoms so she wanted to be super sure.  I had to see my own doctor on Friday, too.  I spent those days doctoring my reflux, which improved every day.  Now, for years, like over 30, I have had heart flutters.  I have had all kinds of tests, but have never been able to capture it on an EKG.  Friday morning I woke up in A fib and stayed that way.  When I walked into the cardio lab, I told them it was their lucky day!  We got a beautiful take and ultrasound of my heart flutters.  Turns out my heart is strong and there is no coronary artery disease (yay!) BUT I have A fib, caused by a leaky valve.  Had it all my life!  Crazy!

Anyway, all we have to do, since the leak is miniscule, is up my beta blockers and take a baby aspirin.  Oh yeah, and run their treadmill again every year.  Stan does his in January, my treadmill will be in July-we are heart patients together!  I feel lots better, and today the esophagus is almost completely better-took a long, long time.  I am have a little trouble adjusting to the beta blocker, been sleeping a lot, but I'll get there and if this one doesn't work there are others. 

Riding in an ambulance was never on my bucket list, but I guess I can scratch it off!

Have been knitting-I started this blanket the other day.  Had to do a little tweaking and ripping to get the hang of the pattern, but I think I've got the hang of it.

You pick up the new color stitches as you go, then you don't have to sew any blocks together, just hide the threads.  It's supposed to be a pattern for leftover sock yarn, I found the pattern on Ravelry, but I decided to use up some worsted.  I think it will work.  It's small right now while it's hot and by the time it grows the weather will be cooler.

Lotion Bars

I am so super-sensitive to fragrances and additives that I make most of my products, like laundry soap.  I started experimenting with hand lotions and found this recipe:

Melt together equal parts by weight-beeswax, olive oil and coconut oil.  Pour into silicone molds and cool. 

Super super simple but it works really well-I kept away the split cuticle monster all winter.

But the bars wear down, just like soap bars, so I waited until I had a bunch of nubbins and put them together in a silicone cup and melted them.  Just set the cup in simmering water in a saucepan.

Now I have a little bar to carry in my purse-I just put it in an Altoids tin.

Sorry I've been MIA, but I continue to get sick.  I finally took my chest infection to Urgent Care on Saturday and got antibiotics.  They told me my case was typical of the virus going around this year:  You get sick, you get well-and you actually feel pretty good, then you get sick again, then well.  Lather, rinse and repeat, LOL!  Hopefully I've broken the cycle with the strong horse pills they gave me.  I do feel more energetic and have most of my speaking voice back so I'm hoping.

Knitting along, I really have to share what I'm doing soon-got a baby sweater almost done, a pair of baby socks in the works and that shawl project I took to Mazatlan.  So I do have things to show you.

Coughing and Knitting

So now I have ANOTHER virus!  Looks like bronchitis this time, I think it probably was last time, but the trip to Mazatlan cured it quickly.  This time I really had a hard time breathing, and the rattle in my chest would wake me up.  I've been on the couch propped up sleeping since Thursday night.  I decided to opt for one of my alternative remedies, so I brewed a batch of colloidal silver and started taking it.  The congestion in my lungs has lessened quite fast, so I think I'll keep going with the therapy.  A lot of people say they end up with a sinus infection, so I'll keep on with the silver for maybe a week or two.  I haven't found anything better than silver for sinus, not even the most powerful antibiotics.  Plus you don't have to rebalance your body afterwards.  Keep'in on, I'll keep you posted on my recuperation. (I'm very impatient, I've already given 4 full days to this bug and I think that's quite enough, thankyouverymuch!)

I have been knitting.  I started this scarf for myself just for a project, something brain dead that I can do while visiting, watching TV, or just drinking coffee.

It's good old knitting worsted in a simple K2 P2 pattern, alternating every 2 rows.  It lays flat and will be nice for the dead of winter.

It's much longer now, I'm just knitting until I think it's long enough or I run out of yarn, LOL!  I'll post a picture when it's finished.  Some people love to knit when they're sick, but I can't focus so I don't get much done.

And the Girl's

Gracie's are ready to go, just need to run by and give them to her.  It might brighten her day, she is down with the croup, poor girl!

She's not the only one sick, this dumb cold has gone through the family like a locomotive.  Chris had it, that's how Gracie got it, and Stan and I have been fighting it for a while.  I got mine a bit over a week ago and am doing pretty well, just dumping the junk that builds up.  But Stan got his before Christmas and hasn't been able to shake it.  Yesterday morning, instead of going to church, he went to Urgent Care and had the doc look at his throat.  He thought it might have been strep, but the doctor said it's a sinus infection.  So, home with antibiotics, he is trying to shake off the germs.  We have gone through almost every home remedy we have-usually they work pretty well but this thing has a mind of its own!

Well, off to pay a couple of bills and do a bunch of running around.  I've been invited to a class tonight on essential oils-I've always wanted to learn more about them and I had gotten an invitation from a Facebook friend (who I've never met-she's local and is a friend of a friend) but I knew my young friend Lindsey was using the same oils so I messaged her.  As it turns out, her class is tonight and she's thrilled that I'm going.  She tried to get me to a Mary Kay meeting once, but this is way more my speed.  I'm really into natural healing and herbs and stuff.

Prowling through travel websites, so we may have a Mazatlan trip booked soon!

They're in Trouble Now!

The dogs love to race through the house barking, sigh....  Most of the time it isn't a problem, but once in a while Merlin will clip one of my potted jade plants and scatter dirt and plant matter everywhere.  I'm actually surprised the plants have survived.  I've had them for years-I bought a tiny potted jade from the Girl Scouts at a craft fair.  It was in a little paper cup.  It grew through a few pots, and when a dog broke a branch off, I potted IT and it's almost as big as the original.

Merlin (of course it was Merlin) really ran through there like a tornado!  Ignore the nose marks on the flap-for some reason the dogs won't clean it off no matter how many times I ask!

He hit so hard it threw dirt into the middle of the door!

Anyway, Mom yelled and they cowered.  Then I vacuumed.  I've vacuumed the living room three times in a week and the dirt cup is full every time!  Today, finally, it was only half full.  My carpet salesman friend said that it happened to him and it took a while after he got the new vacuum to catch up with the dirt.  Oh, and you know those fancy expensive vacuums that that British guy invented?  Carpet people say not to buy those-they actually have too much suction and will fray the carpet.  Who knew?  (Mine isn't the expensive one.)

On another note, I jumped on my blog to write a new post but noticed one of my friends on my blog list had a different sounding post, so I read that first.  My prayers go out to Lisa-her husband had an unexpected health issue right after he arrived at a trade fair.  Thank the Lord for modern medical procedures!  Stan had a similar event five years ago, and was able to have a stent.  He's healthy as a horse now, and got that way with a far less invasive procedure than a bypass would have been.

I was going to be a lot farther along on sewing by now but here it is 10:00 and I haven't started.  I want to sew a while then hit JoAnn's.  That plan got changed Saturday, so I'll try again today.  Stan is fishing again-yay-so I can do MY plans instead of his.  Ladies, don't let your hubbies retire!

Think We Have Summer Again!

Montana summers are so unpredictable, but if the weather people are correct, the whole week is going to be nice-in the 70's and not much rain.  Maybe my garden will get a good start!

We did have a bit of big hail one day, but it was pretty sparse, thank goodness!

Just had to show you the two dogs-Chloe was 5 and Merlin was almost 4 when he came to live with us-they're now 7and 6.  They love each other so much, and have gone from being two completely different dogs to doing everything the same, including how they sit!

I've just gone for my third acupuncture treatment and things are progressing nicely.  The first visit, my improvement was pretty profound, so I was kind of giddy!  (Poor Stan!) The subsequent ones resulted in smaller improvements, but improvements just the same.  I am much less stiff, and the sciatic pain is slowly fading.  He wants to work on my allergies, too-yay!

I updated my cooking blog too, but I kind of whined so if you aren't in the mood for a pity party I suggest not going there.  If you don't mind, go ahead, I talk about quinoa for breakfast, too.

CT Scan

I finally was able to call and schedule my followup CT on my lungs.  You remember they found the two spots last fall during my pre-op exam.  They told me to wait a few months then do another CT.  So I did that yesterday.

I am delighted!  The one on the right is the same size, and the one on the left has shrunken.  I have no idea if this is normal, or if it's a miracle.  I think I'll take the miracle.  The only thing I've done differently, besides having my knee chopped on, is take a supplement called Curamin, which is made from turmeric.  I just did a quick research on the Internet and even the American Cancer Society says that turmeric kills cancer cells.  Wow!  I was taking it for the leg pain, and it has helped a bunch, also with the osteoarthritis in my fingers.  And now I find out it might save my life!  I was going to drop down to one tablet rather than three, but I think I'll stay with the three.  It's kind of pricy, but if it works it's much cheaper than cancer treatments.

Today is a beautiful spring day-got up to 68 degrees F and I got good news!  You never know it might snow tomorrow, but today I am walking on air, warm air!

Au Jus Cups, Little Zippie Bags and Flip Flops

When we travel, we put our supplements into those little bags that beaders use.  And the Au Jus cups are just perfect for sorting the pills.  Those little stainless steel cups are very versatile indeed-I have them all over the house.

I put morning pills in one bag and evening in another.  Before you have a heart attack, rest assured that just about all those pills are supplements!  The big yellow ones are my latest-they're a turmeric pill for inflammation.  And boy, they do work!

After we counted out pills, we realized that, try as we could, we still didn't quite have enough.  We're just not used to being gone for two weeks.  So off to Bozeman we went.  While there, we had a nice late Valentine  lunch at Fiesta Mexicana.

In other news, here is the top I made the other day.  The colors aren't true-it's much greener and yellower.

To finish the neck, I cut a strip cross-grain, folded and pressed it, and then inserted it like ribbing, stretching slightly.  It's a bit tricky-too much stretch gathers it and not enough makes it flip forward and look sadly homemade.  Then I serged the seam, pressed it toward the body, and topstitched it.  I like the look, I think it looks a lot less homemade.  This is a pattern I have perfected and have made many, many times.  I have a few good books on proper fit and was able to make a pattern I could trust to turn out.  If you saw the pattern you would wonder-part of it is out of freezer paper and the sleeve pattern is the original, but cut, patched and taped.  I am so bottom-heavy that I have to make sure that I give myself enough room.  Not too much, it should skim but not cling-that looks terrible.  I have a few purchased tops that are really cute but they look like the dickens around my tummy and posterior.

I was bemoaning the fact that I only have two pairs of shorts and a couple pair of capris.  The shorts aren't too much of a problem-I hate them, but I always take a couple pair to wear when I wade in the ocean.  I spend most of my time in capris.  I started digging through my closet and found this pair of pants I made in the late 90's.  The upper part was fine, but the lower legs were a bit narrow.  Sooo-I tried them on, marked with a pin, added a hem allowance and whacked them off!  They're done, but I packed them before I took a picture.  Maybe they'll show up in one of my trip photos.

And now for the greatest news:  I can wear my flip flops!!  My knee is finally healing enough to branch out my shoe wearing.  I really wanted to take these along, but wasn't too sure it would work yet.  But I wore them all morning and they felt great!  I quit before the space between my toes got sore-mustn't rush these things!  And please ignore the polish, I did a pretty bad job, but I rushed it and besides, the spillover on the skin will wear off, LOL!

How We are Doing

Stan is doing just great-he even shoveled the driveway today.  He's done dishes, taken out the garbage, finished the crossword puzzles in the newspapers he missed.  I picked up his diabetes meds-very cheap, thank goodness!

The timeshare people called me to let me know that they had a room for me on that extra night, so I called and cancelled my reservations at Playa Mazatlan.  As nice as the hotel is, I am glad we don't have to move off the resort.  Things are coming together.  My cousin offered to take us to the airport, so now I just have to find a sitter for one dog.  Jim and Millie are taking Chloe, but with their houseful of kids and a big dog, Merlin would have been too much-he's a bit high maintenance.

We were laughing about the lack of snow and how we would feel bad about leaving such nice weather, but that changed today.  It's been snowing all day-the kind that makes the roads super icy.  When I got on the Interstate to come home, there were four accidents in a mile and a half.  I made it home just fine, but I don't think we'll leave Manhattan tonight.

My massage therapist asked me to shorten the sleeves on her college professor's suit jacket, so that will happen tomorrow.  He needs it before we get back.  I'll just take a massage in payment-very fair to me!

Well, it's time to make supper happen-after 43 years of marriage I am very tired of that job.  Maybe we'll eat out.

He's Home

Apologies for not posting last night, but I was exhausted and just crawled into bed when I got home.  Stan is home and doing well.  We got very frustrated with the hospital because nobody gave us any answers.  He ended up staying an extra day simply because somebody forgot to take his bloodwork in the morning.  The kidney guy had to chase a nurse down and order it.  By that time they had committed to keeping him there last night.  And by that time I was getting ticked!  We kept asking anyone who came in his room what the score was, and were promised we'd have answers but those answers didn't come.

Finally this morning he got a new nurse who seemed to be more on the ball than the others.  It was after 10:00 and the Dr. hadn't been in yet.  When the nurse walked in I hit her with, "Just what the heck is going on?  We have no answers or concrete diagnosis and we think it's stupid that he had to stay last night!"  She immediately went after the doctor.  Of course he came while I was in the ladies' room!

What we found:  Stan has Type 2 diabetes.  This is what caused the kidney infection.  We have been watching his blood sugar closely for years because diabetes runs heavily in his family.  We were hoping that, at the age of 69, he had escaped, but no such luck.  It finally caught up with him.  The Dr. prescribed pills, plus extra antibiotics just in case he had kidney problems while in Mexico.  He doesn't want Stan to start the diabetes pills until after the trip, just in case there are unpleasant side effects.

Anyway, he's home and happy.  I'm happy he's home, too!

Still There

They're still not satisfied with Stan's kidney numbers so he gets to spend another night.  He seems to be totally fine with it, and was watching TV with his eyes closed when I left.  Still praying-kinda like having him around.  They did an ultrasound today, and we thought the kidney specialist would be in to give us the results but he didn't show.  I gave up and left at 7:00.  He'll be in to see him in the morning, I'm sure.

Had a neat thing happen at the restaurant where I had dinner.  Our favorite restaurant is "Fiesta Mexicana," a real Mexican restaurant owned by a family from Jalisco.  We have gotten to be pretty good friends with them.  Tonight when they found out Stan was in the hospital, I got hugs and well wishes, and they each spent a little time with me.  Then when they found out we are hoping to go to Mazatlan, I got suggestions for food to order in the restaurants.  So nice to feel like we're part of their family.

In the Hospital

I have Stan in the hospital tonight.  The reason he was sick was that he has a bladder infection.  The doctor we saw at Urgent Care was concerned that the infection might be hard to treat in someone his age (?) so she gave him IV antibiotics.  Problem was, he should have been better by suppertime, but he wasn't.  He wasn't better by today.  The doctor had told him to come back today to get another blood workup, and his white cell count was twice as high, as well as his creatinine.  So off to the ER we go.  And after the interminable long wait, he was admitted and is settled in for the night.  They will load him with fluids and antibiotics and watch his kidney function-something they are concerned about.

Prayers are appreciated.

Such a Pain!

Yep, that would be my lower back!  I did go to the spine people today, and got some really good news.  I do NOT have a ruptured disc!  Still not sure why the guy with the big needles and cortisone said I did.  He's an MD, you'd think he would know how to read an MRI.  The spine guy and I read it and in his words, "Your spine looks really clean!"  I could see it easily and I'm not an MD!  It's probably a tiny muscle causing the problem, the piriformis.  The sciatic nerve can run through that muscle and cause terrible amounts of pain.  Only thing is, they can't do anything for me.  Of course, they half-heartedly mentioned physical therapy, but my experience with that is less than optimum.

It's good news to me that there is nothing structurally wrong because now I can take over my own healing.  There are a few options open to me-accupuncture, massage, chiropractic, etc.  My friend Contessa recommends this book, and I think I will get it.  It has to be mailed, it's an older book and isn't available on Kindle yet, but that might be better-Stan can use it for his rotator cuff pain.

I'm reading some other books, too, about tension and the mind-body connection.  I just might combine both and come out on top!

Stan's sis is chomping at the bit to go to Mazatlan soon-like in a couple of weeks-but I'm not sure I can sit in a plane that long yet.  I really want to go, so I do have to get in shape quickly!