Accident Update

Howdy, friends & family!
Yep, I'm still alive and kicking...well, maybe not kicking yet.  My whole right side is one solid black and blue mark and I've got a knot on my chest wall that hurts if I even LOOK at it.  I just can't believe all this has happened.  We saved so hard and long for that car, our baby, and now in just a moment it is totaled to smithereens.   I'm glad to be alive, of course, and I think God everyday for watching over me.  But I'm still quite depressed over the whole deal.  I still haven't heard from the claim adjuster about the car yet, but hopefully they will call soon and we can get a rental car soon to tie us over for a little bit until our next car.

My husband is still in the hospital, but his lungs are improving.  Unfortunately, they found a lump in his groin, so he will have to have an ultrasound of the area.  Hopefully it is nothing.  We need some good news for a change!!!  So please help me pray for him.  He was in the hospital LAST year in July, too!!  July is turning into to a sucky month!!!

We had a doozy of a storm last night, so my father-in-law will have the internet connection off until they return from their trip in four days.  So don't worry if you don't hear from me.  As soon as it's back on, I'll keep you informed of our happenings.

Hope you all have a great day!!!!
God bless you all~~

PS.....I've got almost the whole Janet Evanovich collection in HARDCOVER (I'm missing the sixteenth book) in which I wish to sell as I got them all on my Kindle.  They are in excellent condition.  I've even got the brand new one, "Smoking Seventeen."  Buy one or buy them all!  I'm reasonable...name a price and they are yours.  A price ABOVE $5.00, though, please.  You can write in the comments that you are interested and I'll get back to you.

Be Sure To ALWAYS buckle up!

Howdy, friends!
I wish I could start this post on a positive note, but I can't.  Two very unfortunate things happened to my husband and me yesterday, July 22.  The first thing, my husband is back in the hospital with pneumonia.  He started spiking temps on Thursday night and it hurt for him to cough.  He was in so much pain, I had no choice but to take him to the Urgent Care, which in turn sent us to the hospital.  He's on two very strong antibiotics to kill the germs, but as of today, it still hurts him to cough.  He was in so much pain, that not even Morphine IV could control it!  At first they thought he collapsed a lung, but according to the X-ray, it showed a bad case of pneumonia.  So he's been in the hospital for two days now.  Imagine being sick like that and in the hospital and having your wife tell you something awful like this.......

I had an early morning doctor's appointment on Friday at 8:45am.  I didn't get home from the hospital ER until about 2:30am.  So needless to say, I was pooped.  I got up at 7:30am, got dressed and went about my usual schedule.  I remember driving down the road clearly, then all of sudden, my car hit 30 feet of brick wall and it flipped over!!!  I remember being in the car, upside down, held in place by a very tight seat belt that was choking my neck.  Needless to say, I unbuckled it and dropped to the ground (or the roof of the car, as the case may be.)  I tried to get out the passenger side door, but it was jammed shut.  I could hear voices outside saying something about gas, and I started to panic!  Luckily, a good samaritan got me out of the car and over to the curb away from the car.  This really nice lady sat with me until the ambulance arrived.  I was extremely shaking and upset and when I looked back at our poor car, I just wanted to vomit.  We had saved so long and so hard and now I'd gone and wrecked it all up.  I wanted to die at that very instant!

The ambulance came and loaded me up on a back board and C-collar, so I couldn't move my neck at all!!  They started an IV and warned me I was in for a bumpy ride.  They weren't kidding!!  The lady that sat with me called my in-laws, so they could come to the hospital with me.  I was in the ER for about 7 hours and had a CT scan, X-rays, and an MRI.  Luckily, all it showed was a bone spur in my back and 3 cracked ribs.  They said I was extremely lucky to not have been hurt worse and by wearing my seat belt.  I will never again forget how important those are!!  They let me go in the afternoon and said that I would feel worse before I felt better.  Boy, were they right!!  I woke up today and I hurt so bad where the rib was cracked and I've got black and blue marks all over.  My neck, where the seat belt was, is all bruised, along with my whole chest.  I can barely move my arms.  But I thank God above for watching over me and getting me out safe.  Thank you, Jesus!!!

And a HUGE thank you to my sister, Barbara and my mother-in-law for taking such good care of me.  They got my prescriptions and stayed with me the whole time in the ER.  I am so fortunate to have such a great family!!

After we left the ER, we went off to another hospital to see how my hubby was doing as we hadn't heard from him all day.  Come to find out, he was still in ER holding waiting for a bed in the tower.  We got there just as they were moving him to a nice room.  The moment I saw his face, I started to cry and tell him what had happened.  He was shocked, naturally, but glad that I was alive and not paralyzed or something worse!!!  I hated having to tell him our beautiful car was toast, but as everyone in the room said, that is just a "thing."  It can be replaced.  I cannot.  But I still feel really, REALLY bad about ruining the car.  I may NEVER drive again!!!

That's my news and if I could ask a favor of you to please pray for us.  For my husband's speedy recovery and for a car that we can afford FAST.  Life sure does SUCK without a car!!

Hope you all are well and are having a good weekend.
Hugs to you all,
A VERY SORE MISSY!!

Thanks, Gina, for my beautiful new siggy!

Guest Article by Jillian McKee

Howdy, friends!!  Awhile ago, I received a very interesting article about fibromyalgia and cancer pain management that I thought would be a good read for those afflicted with these ailments.  The article was provided to me by Jillian McKee and I thank her for such a nicely written article and for sharing it on my lil' ole' blog!  Thank you again, Jillian and for being so patient while I was ill and couldn't blog for awhile.  Here is her article.  Please let us know what YOU think!


Fibromyalgia and Cancer Pain Management

New research studies suggest that fibromyalgia patients may have an increased risk of developing cancer, the common denominator of which appears to be chronic musculoskeletal pain. According to a paper published in the Journal of Rheumatology in January 2007, there was an increased cancer risk in patients referred to the hospital for suspected fibromyalgia. Similarly, a 2009 paper published in Rheumatology found that musculoskeletal pain is associated with a long-term increased risk for cancer. While there is no established causal relationship between fibromyalgia and cancers such as mesothelioma and others, in 2004, Dr. Gary J. McFarlane of the University of Manchester discovered a greater incidence of subsequent cancer in patients with chronic widespread pain, and that these individuals were 80% more likely to die after being diagnosed with malignancy than those without a history of chronic pain.

Chronic pain is not well understood by the general public and the intense, widespread pain of fibromyalgia, including pain around the lungs, a condition identified as costochondritis, remains especially mysterious to those unaffected. The pain of costochondritis is similar to the pain of mesothelioma, which affects the lining of the lungs. Because both conditions are considered orphan diseases, pharmaceutical companies don't consider the research and development of drugs to treat them to be cost effective. In early stages of both of these conditions, taking NSAIDs remains the prescribed treatment. Opioids are prescribed when the pain becomes intolerable. Holistic treatment methods for chronic pain associated with fibromyalgia and cancers such as mesothelioma include acupuncture, specific breathing techniques and relaxation. The mesothelioma life expectancy rate varies depending on the individual with a reported mean average of 4-18 months. Life expectancy among fibromyalgia patients appears to be nearly the same as the general public with some exceptions, such as in patients who also develop cancer. 

Whether for five years or 50, however, successful chronic pain management drastically improves quality of life. Drugs such as Cymbalta or Neurontin can effectively manage pain for some patients, while others will need to resort to strong narcotics including oxycodone and hydrocodone. Due to their addictive qualities, however, caution should be used when taking narcotics for long periods of time, making other pain management techniques more attractive for long-term chronic pain. Developing more holistic approaches to pain management early on can lead to better effectiveness in late-stage disease.

It's Good To Be Back

It's so great to be back online again!!!  I have had a very rough time of it these past few weeks.  I felt so miserable, I didn't even have the energy to make it to the computer room, let alone keep up with my blogs.  I think I had some kind of flu bug, since when I went to the hospital last weekend, they couldn't find anything wrong to explain my horrible nausea and dry-heaving.   I had a CT scan and everything was OK with my surgery.  They pumped me full of IV fluids and Zofran for the nausea and sent me home.  It took me another two days to keep anything down.  I couldn't even turn my head, the nausea was so bad!!  I hope I never go through that again so soon.....if ever!!  And to think I had a flu shot, too.  But those don't cover EVERY strand of flu virus.  Leave it to me to get one that it doesn't cover!!

Anyway, the nausea has slowly left me and I can now go back on my protein drinks and liquids.  I seem to be stuck on liquids.  Every time I try to eat something like chicken or something solid, it just sticks in my throat and won't go down.  I have to "chase" it down with milk or applesauce.  Since April, when I had my surgery, I've been on soups, yogurt, protein drinks, milk, Crystal Light, puddings and Jello.  When I got weighed at the hospital, I lost another 13 pounds, so I'm down to 269!!  I was happy about that!!  Before I got so sick, my hubby and I were going to the gym and to my sister-in-law's pool.  That was so much fun.  Hopefully we can start that back up.  I feel weak as a kitten after this recent ordeal!!

I sometimes regret having the bariatric surgery.  It seems like since I had it, I've had so many problems with nausea and advancing my diet.  I don't know if that is normal and it's only been three months since the surgery, so maybe I am hurrying things.  I miss taking pills the way I used to....with a glass of water.  Now I've got to take them with yogurt or applesauce.  When you take as much as I do, you can get very tired of both of those!!  But what can I do?  I also miss taking a big bite out of a hamburger!!!  But then again, those bites of the past is what got me into trouble with my weight in the first place!!  So I guess the surgery was the only way to go to save my life, since nothing else was working.  It's just hard to get used to my new way of life.

My fibromyalgia is acting up, too. I guess it felt left out!  I've had sinus headaches to beat the band.  Of course, we had a horrendous dust storm the other day and that got everyone's allergies all in an uproar!  

I hope this post finds everyone happy and healthy and trying to stay cool.  It's a balmy, lovely 110 here in Phoenix!!!  I can't wait for fall to arrive!!  I decided to keep my blog decorated like it is for the month of July, then I'll re-decorate it in August for fall.  I think it looks cute with the firecrackers on it, don't you????

Before I leave, here is a new picture I took of myself this morning.  My hubby is in it, too, as he was doing his hair and wouldn't move out of the picture...guess he wants to be in the limelight, too!  Ha!  I'm wearing 3x clothing now, which tickles me pink, since before the surgery I was a prisoner of 6x clothing.  Not bad for three months, huh?  90 pounds lost and 3 shirt sizes!!!  Pretty soon I'll get back to the gym and strive for more weight loss.  Wish me luck!!  Hope you all have a good rest of the week and weekend.  I'll be posting again soon.

Hugs,

I'm Still Here!

Howdy, friends.  I am sooo terribly sorry to not have been in contact.  I've had such a rough time with things and had to go back to the ER a week ago with nausea/vomiting.  I'm on the mend now, and hopefully can update to my heart's content in a few days.  Thanks for being there for me!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Sedona

Here's some pics I took of a little road trip my hubby and I took to Sedona recently.  It felt so good to get out of the heat for awhile!!!  I'll post more about our trip soon.  Our internet has been acting up something awful!!  Hope all is well!!