December 16, 2015

A "Take it Easy" Day??

December 16, 2015

My ever-present medical appointment book

In the take home instructions from the hospital it said to take it easy for a couple of days.  They did not mention that, but I read it last night - after my busy day.  Oh, well...

There was an appointment I had at 8:15 with our dermatologist that had been set 6 months ago.  On the way home from the hospital, I asked Ron if I had missed it.  I didn't remember which day it was, only that it was this week.  When we got home I checked my appointment book and found it was early Wednesday morning.  Of course that meant I had to get up early and get to his office early.  He is a very friendly, nice, hyper man.  He goes non-stop and talks very fast.  His first question to me every time is about my Cochlear Implant.

Explaining that it works better on slow speaking Southerners that fast talking Northerners does seem to get his attention.  I have him repeat a lot.  He removed one little place for biopsy and froze two other places and I was quickly out of there - as I said, he is fast.

From there I went to the pharmacy to leave some prescription requests and to pick up a couple of items.  Then it was to the office, to meet a new salesman for one of the companies we buy from.  I had things to do to catch up, so I spent most of the next few hours in my office.

At 1:00 I left the office to go to Harlingen for an appointment with my Thyroid doctor.  Again, this appointment had been set 6 months ago and I had tests done for it last week.  The doctor is a sweet lady, very soft spoken and I like her.  The results of the tests were perfect so I don't have to see her for a year. 

The tension of the last few days caught up with me and I wasn't sure I could get anything else done, but I remember one of my doctors saying "retail therapy" was good for stress, (shopping) so I took that advice and headed to Hobby Lobby and points beyond.  I did finish with the shopping for one grandchild, and picked up a couple of small items, but nothing special.

Once home, I started laundry before Ron came in and when he arrived we had a good long talk and it helped me feel a little better.  We had supper and I did some cleaning before going to bed at 10:00 which is early for me.  It was a productive day, but I would rather not have any of the annual or semi-annual doctor appointments in December.  There is just too much else to be done. 

December 14 & 15, 2015

An Unexpected Trip

To the Hospital

December 14 & 15, 2015

This blog has been hard to write.  It is due to some frustrating experiences at the hospital and I can't decide how much to say.  So far I have written this blog twice and think I will just boil it down to a few basics and the situations with my Cochlear Implant.

When Jeff's family left Sunday evening we were sorry to see them go.  It had been a great day spent together.  We were tired.  I ended up falling asleep in the recliner (again) about 10:00 and woke at 3:00 having severe pains in my upper chest area, across my shoulders, and up into my neck.  The pains were very strong.  They did not follow typical heart attack pains as per what we are all taught over the years.  I have also heard that women's heart attacks are different and you should not go by the old standard warnings.  I looked up on line the common symptoms for women and again they did not match mine.  But...the pain was not going away.

I walked around a while, tried a hot bath, and nothing was helping.  I did not feel that it was a heart attack, but it was severe pain.  My neck was hurting badly so at 4:00 I woke Ron and asked him to massage my neck and shoulders.  Again, no relief.  I told him he needed to take me to the ER. 

Once there, a little before 5:00, we were quickly seen by doctors.  They did chest x-rays, an EKG, blood work, etc. and said they did not think it was heart related.  They said the EKG looked normal, but that the blood work would show if there had been any heart damage earlier.  That blood work was normal but they said they would run another one in 6 hours and see if there were any changes.  I was taken to another area of ER away from the trauma cases.

That is where we encountered a long list of problems as we waited for treatment and tests.  It was a very difficult 11 hours in that area before I was moved to a room where blood work every 6 hours continued as well as a halter heart monitor.  The care was excellent on that floor and particularly where my Cochlear Implant was concerned (except for one aide).  The first nurse was told and I saw her telling others about my implant and that they would need to be sure I had it on in order for me to hear them.

The first doctors in ER were also very good about the implant.  The nurse in the other area was not.  But on the floor all went well as far as the Cochlear implant was concerned.  I had explained that I take it off when I sleep and that they would have to shake me to wake me.  At 12:00 they came for blood.  At 11:00 they did Blood Pressure, temp, etc.  They made the rounds again at 3:00 for the BP, temp, etc.  Each time I would basically keep my eyes closed so I could quickly return to sleep.  But this aide shook me and tried to tell me or ask me something.  I had no idea what.  So I had to get out of bed.  Go to the closet, get out the sound processor, go to the bedside table and attach it to the battery that had been recharging, and put it on, all the while pulling the IV stand along with me. 

When I finally had it on, I asked her what she needed.  She wanted to know (this is a direct quote), "Did you go Poo Poo?"  I told her that I had not since the last time she had been there, and then put things back where they belonged and went to bed.  I hope that gives you a laugh.  I was not laughing at 3:00 a.m.

The heart doctor never came the first day.  He was expected the morning of the second day. He arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon, said my heart was healthy and that he agreed with the diagnosis I had come up with 24 hours earlier - pleurisy.  He thought that explained the pains which had gradually been diminishing.  He said to come see him after the holidays instead of in May as previously planned.  He signed dismissal papers and I was able to leave at 4:00. 

We found one particular employee to be a major problem for us, but all others were highly skilled and very kind.  They smiled as they worked, greeted me as they came in the room even when they were coming to see my roommate. 

We have friends who work at this hospital and they visited me.  I have had good results at the hospital and when I told Ron I needed to go to the ER, he asked which hospital.  I selected this one.  I would probably go back but I would hope to avoid one particular nurse.

We are very thankful the pains were not heart related.  Pleurisy is a painful irritation of the soft tissue outside of the lungs.  My guess is that this was brought on by that bad cold I had 6 - 8 weeks ago.  The pain intensifies when you try to breathe.  One article I read referred to it as a stabbing pain.  That is close.

As I mentioned, some nurse friends visited me.  Our son Jeff and one of his sons visited.  We appreciated all the encouragement we got from friends and family.  I was a long 36 hours at the hospital.  Sleeping at night is easy when I can just take off the sound processor.  It was a very quiet night for me.

December 13, 2015

Wonderful Sunday

From Start to Finish

December 15, 2015

Watching a video of the Christmas parade we had attended

 

I am late again in posting, but that is happening a lot lately.  Sunday was a fantastic day!  I was up early and got things done in the kitchen before Ron got up.  I had his coffee made and breakfast done.  We were a little early to Sunday School and our class was more than full!  We had all but 3 members present.  Two of those had a family member in the hospital and the other is away visiting family.  Then we had 5 visitors - a very full house. The lesson was great, the people participated well and we got out on time for church without me making hand signals to Ron.

Playing with the Beanie Babies and doll beds

Church was very good and the added bonus was having most of our son's family there.  In fact, all but our son had come.  He had to help out that morning on a responsibility related to his job; he was able to join us for lunch, but missed church.  The sermon was very good and again the pastor asked for testimonies.  I love that.  There was a baptism of a young lady in our church - it was a great Christmas season service.

The blocks belonged to Ron when he was growing up.

 

On our way home, we picked up chicken for lunch and everyone pitched in to get the tables ready and the food and tables were ready about the same time.  What fun it was to all be together again on Sunday.  My mom and my brother-in-law Jim joined us.  The grandchildren found things to occupy their time while their parents left to take a tour of some homes decorated in special ways for Christmas.  They were gone the rest of the afternoon. 

 Christmas lights on the porch

 

The younger grand kids and I got 2 batches of cookies baked, while Ron and the two older boys put up lights on the outside of the house. 

 Christmas lights down one side of the house 

 

They were hoping to get away with only putting lights on the porch but I encouraged them to go further.  I bribed them with Chocolate Chip Cookies!  While they were working on the last section, a friend came by and helped with the last little bit.  He really was speedy at the job. 

This sweetie can usually be found at the sewing machine

By the time the lights were finished, I had the chocolate chip cookies coming out of the oven.  The children had such a good time and so did we.  We sure miss them since they are about 80 miles away, but maybe it makes the visits sweeter.

A fun impromptu supper 

 

When Jeff and Barb got back we decided to fix grilled cheese sandwiches for supper and visit for a while longer.  It was a wonderful day.  As always, the children cleaned up their toys before they left.  Someone had been assigned to clean up the toys in the sewing room.  Soon the youngest came out crying.  The cleaner had put up her toys first and then the ones the cleaner was playing with. 

A round tower made from the blocks

 

I let the crying youngster play with the new stuffed gingerbread girl I had bought the day before and she quickly cuddled it and played with it.  She asked if she could take it home and I told her that was fine but to bring it back the next time they came for a visit. (A side note: The next evening her dad told me I might have trouble getting it back, but I had told Ron after they left that I had the youngest in mind when I bought it so I did not care if it returned to our house.)

Ron holding the youngest as she cuddles the gingerbread girl

 

They left just before 9:00 and we were tired but very happy.  It had been a great day!

Doesn't she look ready to become a Santa's Elf?

Note the candy canes on her pants.

December 12, 2015

A Stay-at-Home Saturday

December 12, 2015

The nativity scene in the sewing room

 

I asked Ron to not wake me when he left this morning and wouldn't you know it, I woke up at 7:00.  I got up and spent most of the day working on the house and on Christmas decorations.  I just had a lot of finishing touches to do on the decorations.  Since I no longer have a housekeeper, I cleaned house some.  I did a lot of dusting and picking up clutter.  There is still too much to do, but I made progress. 

During the morning I finished decorating a small artificial tree for the dining table.  It has miniature ornaments on it that I have been collecting for over 25 years.  That took lots longer than it should have.  Then I did the last of the 7 "birdcage" decorations.  I strung tiny lights on a wreath and around the front door.

My miniature Christmas tree

 

Late in the morning I went out in the yard to take care of ponds, birdbaths, and bird feeders.  It was a very windy day and I did not stay out there very long.  I watered the hanging plants and my rose bushes.  They are doing fairly well.

I had frozen a couple of baking dishes of dressing at Thanksgiving and baked one of them today to go with some leftover smoked turkey Mom gave us after supper last night.  It was a very good lunch.

The string of lights on the wreath

 

Most of the afternoon and evening I spent in the sewing room, but unless you had seen it before my work, you might not believe I had spent hours in there.  I added a few decorative items to my shelves and again did dusting and sorting.  Slow progress on most of the jobs.

During the evening I talked to our son in Albuquerque and it was snowing at their house.  Meanwhile it was a warm windy day here.  He and I discussed my blog some.  I told him that many days, in my blog I do not focus on the Cochlear Implant and that is because many days, it is not a noticeable factor in my days.  It is a very important factor, for without it, I would be deaf.  But more and more days, I don't think about it much.  It is becoming natural and normal for me.  That is something to write home about (as they say).  It is something very good. 

A new addition to the decor, a little 

gingerbread girl that is gingerbread scented

 

Yesterday, one of my doctors asked if I was glad I had gotten the Cochlear Implant.  I told her the usual about it working well in one on one conversations, but less well in noisy situations.  But, I told her of course I was glad I had gotten it, for without it, the alternative is deafness. 

If you are new to this blog, I would suggest that you start at the beginning which is about March of 2013 or about the time of my implant surgery which was about June 10, 2013.  That section tells the most about the deafness and the changes brought on by the implant.  Current entries are more about a life being lived fairly normally.  The main difference is that when I take off my sound processor, I am almost totally deaf.  I can't hear a door open, my husband call me, the TV on full volume, etc. 

The little snowman from the movie Frozen

 

So there is no doubt about it, I am glad I got my Cochlear Implant. 

December 10 & 11, 2015

More Days are Flying Past

December 10 & 11, 2015

The little church from the village I built many years ago.

 

Thursday I went to the office a little early and spent the day on paper work.  I finished the reports for the accountant and worked on balancing the checkbook but had problems again with the credit card company.  It took me a while to get it to where I thought the accountant could understand what had happened on the reports.  I seriously had a bad headache by the time I finished. 

The evening was spent with our friends at supper and it was a relaxing time that we both needed.  I was glad to just sit and visit and be waited on.  At home I again fell asleep quickly. 

Store

 

Friday I had an early morning appointment at my General Practitioner's office.  The nurse practitioner I normally see was out and they said she had been out for a while.  I hope she will be back soon.  They seemed to be busy and a male nurse practitioner saw me.  He and I agreed to increase one medication and that I would see him again in about 3 weeks to see how that is going. 

 Stable/barn

The nurse practitioner had a good strong voice and I only had to have him repeat a couple of times and that was due to not understanding what the question actually was.  But the nurse doing the blood pressure, etc. was a young man who is very soft spoken.  He is attending a training school here locally and the first time I saw him I just could not understand him.  He was better this time, but I noticed he was asking some questions that I was not expecting and that those were the ones I had to have him repeat.  He was asking questions about depression and for example he asked if family members noticed and commented about the depression.  I don't recall being asked that before and so I could not play "fill in the blank" for the words I did not catch.  If he had asked if I was having trouble sleeping I would have been expecting that question so I would have probably figured out what he was saying.  He did ask about loss of appetite.  How can they ask that with a straight face when I am not losing weight? 

Family home (with Lego man on porch)

 

When I left there I stopped at one store for a few little items and then at an office supply store for envelopes for our Christmas cards.  From there I went to Michael's and picked up a few things.  It is amazing to me that Christmas items are already 50% and 60% off and that there are few to select from. 

Before going to the office, I picked up lunch for us and as always, I have trouble hearing the clerks behind the counter in fast food places.  Usually they are young and soft spoken and talk fast.  They usually ask my name so they can call me when the order is ready.  I normally have to have them repeat that question and I tell them that I doubt that I will hear my name being called since I could not hear their question.  They normally laugh, but it makes them remember me and they usually bring the food to me.

School house

 

Back at the office, I got the reports in the mail to the accountant and emailed them to him so he can send me figures I will need to pay the state sales tax.  I did other paper work and then did some cleaning in my office.

At home I have a little Christmas village that I built many years ago.  I have two additional structures to be built and have worked on one off and on this week.  I have been painting the band stand for the park and am about ready to put the shingles on the roof.  I had hoped to finish it this week, but there was just too much office work to be done.

 Fire house

 

I had an appointment in Harlingen with one of my doctors at 4:30.  I drove up there and the wind was really blowing hard.  I had to watch traffic to be sure they weren't drifting out of their lanes due to the winds.  When I finished there it was past time to be closed at the office.  We had made plans with Mom to have supper at her house so that we could help decorate her deck out in front of the house.  Ron, Jim (my brother-in-law) and I got the deck done and some lighted snowflakes hung on her windows.  It looks so nice.

Then as too often happens, a few minutes after we had put garland and lights around the deck railing, one section of the lights went out on one side of the deck.  How in the world?!  Jim was hoping to take care of that today in the daylight, since we were decorating in the dark.

Gift shop

 

At home I again went to sleep quickly.  I told Ron to just let me sleep Saturday morning.

December 9, 2015

A Great Day Accomplishing Much

December 9, 2015

Charlie Brown and his Christmas tree.

 

This morning Ron wanted me to be at the office a little earlier than I have been going because he had a job he needed to take care of before I went to a couple of afternoon appointments.  When I arrived at the office there was a salesman there from one of our suppliers.  I gave him a list of several items we needed and while working with him, a customer came in to finalize an order that he had been working on with Ron.  We were both back and forth taking care of the man while the salesman spent over 30 minutes on his phone trying to call in our order to his office.  That is not good advertising if even their salesmen can't get through on the phone lines!

Ron ran an errand and then spent a little more time with the salesman before going out on the job he had promised.  I had several customers while he was gone.  One of the customers is the kind who makes me glad I have my Cochlear implant so I can carry on a conversation.  It turned out that the man had grown up on the same street where I grew up.  I did not remember him since he was a little older, but he was good friends with one of the boys on the block where we lived.  In fact he lived right across the street from our friend.

I set up the nativity scene that Ron bought in Bethlehem

 a few years ago when he traveled to the Holy Land.

 

We had  a good talk about the wonderful neighborhood filled with good folks, and the feeling of safety that we all had back then.  The thing our parents constantly warned us about was rabid dogs, not kidnappers or terrorists.  Times have changed so much.

It was good to take a walk down memory lane with the man and just before he left he told me that he had given up smoking, that he was taking care of his health, and that he had turned his life over to God.  What a wonderful thing to hear.  I am often amazed how many of my childhood friends have become Christians as adults.  That was just a perfect note for the ending of our conversation.

A couple of the arrangements I worked on tonight.

Ron was not back when I needed to leave for an appointment so I locked up, put the back in 1 hour signs on the doors and headed to San Benito for a sonogram on my thyroid.  At this point, due to some recent changes on the scans, I have to go every 6 months.  If everything stays the same, I will go to yearly checkups.

The lady who did the scan is so quick!  She is a sweet, kind young lady, although soft spoken.  I do have trouble hearing her.  I was out of there in a matter of minutes.  From there I went to Harlingen to have blood work done for the thyroid doctor.  I will see her next week and she should have all of the reports by then.

 Another of the centerpieces I made.

 

At the lab where I had the blood work done, I again had excellent care and a very friendly technician.  When I got there I was disappointed that the man who is usually there was not there today.  I told this lady that she would have trouble doing as well as he does.  She did great!  Every other time I need blood work, they just cannot find the veins and when they do they have trouble getting the needle to stay in place.  She was in and out almost before I was aware she was drawing the blood.

It was such a treat to have such nice, efficient, friendly medical help today.  I had nice visits with both people and thankfully they were not real busy.  Before coming back to Brownsville, I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few items.  Ron's mother needed a couple of things, but I could not find the color she needed. 

I started decorating the miniature Christmas tree, but did not finish it.

 

Back at the office, I worked on bookkeeping.  I needed to have some quiet time to get it done and I ended up staying an extra 45 minutes past closing time to get most of it done.  Then I went to Mom's house to see how she was doing.  She and I visited for an hour and then I came home.  I had picked up lunch at 3:00 on my way back from Harlingen and was not hungry so I started cleaning house.  I did some vacuuming and put the finishing touches on some of the Christmas decorations.  I stacked all the empty boxes beside the closet where they belong and I hope Ron can get them put up this weekend. 

Working this evening, I was able to get a lot done, but am exhausted.  I still need to do some mopping, and a lot of other things, but at least I got some of it done.  I worked on some centerpieces that I had used at Stephen and Kristina's wedding rehearsal dinner, changing the flowers from the fall ones I had used to Christmas ornaments and greenery.  I am pleased with the look and I was able to get 6 of them made. 

December 7 & 8, 2015

Christmas is Coming

December 7 & 8, 2015

What would a Christmas parade be without Frosty the Snowman?

Remember in the previous blog, I told you I would continue sharing some of the photos from the Christmas Parade in McAllen.  I hope you enjoy them.  We sure enjoyed the parade.

 Elmo was glad to be in the parade

 

About 1/4 of this month is gone.  I should have a lot of my shopping done for Christmas.  I don't.  I have taken care of a few things, but there is still much to do.  I need wish list and sizes from the family.  They are late arriving in my mail or email box. 

In the last blog I showed you a dinosaur and a whale, now here is a shark.

Monday at the office was rather quiet.  I had things to do like working on our annual Christmas letter to friends and family.  I had written the letter last week and on Monday I got the front and back designed.  After what seemed like a long day at the office, Ron suggested I leave about 4:30 since the Brownsville Christmas Parade was forming at the corner by our office and if I did not leave I would get blocked in. 

The Cat in the Hat was a definite crowd pleaser

 

Leaving worked for me because I had not had time to get groceries over the weekend so I went to Wal-mart and did not only grocery shopping but some seasonal shopping.  I did get a couple of Christmas gifts, but also package tags, wrapping paper, tape, etc.  It was a couple of hours later before I arrived at home with my load of groceries.

There were cheers from the crowd for Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer

I did not even finish unpacking the groceries, but ate a little and then fell asleep in the recliner and woke up at 3:00 a.m. and moved to my bed where I slept for another 3 hours.

Today, Tuesday was also rather quiet at the office, but we had some good sales to the customers who did come in.  I again worked on the Christmas letters and got a lot of them printed and started addressing them.  I did not get far on that, but I am ready to work on them tomorrow. 

This was a happy Gingerbread Man; 

maybe because there was a Gingerbread 

Girl following a ways behind him.

 

Part of the afternoon was spent paying bills and looking for missing bills.  One of my personal bills is missing and one to the shop is missing.  I know that no one stole my bills, so I just need to find them!  Lately life has seemed like a game of hide and seek.  Too much time is spent looking for missing things and I know a lot of the reason is that I am behind on house cleaning.

Gingerbread Girl

 

Today after work, Ron and I went to his mother's house for supper.  We had a good visit.  She seemed very tired.  She was glad to see photos from our children showing activities in their lives.  She does love her family.  When I left there I went to Michael's for a couple of items for me and a couple of things she needed.  It was 8:00 before I got home and I just read and watched a movie, before visiting with our daughter-in-law in New Mexico via a phone call.