Back To...Normal?

Woo-hoo! Yippee!!  Can I officially say that we are back to "normal?"  What the heck IS normal, anyway? Frankie is doing fabulous. Even his pain levels have decreased some - he remains on the Duragesic patch, however, and Percocet for breakthrough pain.  He resumed the Gleevec (for the GIST cancer that he has) two days ago after a 2 month hold due to the surgery and all the complications that ensued.  Now that he is back on the Gleevec, the leg pain will resume full force.  I hope not - I truly do. But that side-effect is one he has always had with Gleevec.  But I'd rather him be alive than to stop the Gleevec all together and have the cancer return.  He feels the same way, although it was nice to have that little pill "vacation" for awhile!!!  It's like returning to work after a vacation. You don't really want to be there, but you have to because if you don't, how will the bills get paid?

I took a two photos of Frankie just about 10 minutes ago to show you how he's coming along. The first one is of him sitting in his favorite spot on the couch, eating a bowl of cereal.  The second one is of his drain-free belly!  All that's left is the incision (which is all healed up) and a band-aid over the drain site.  I'm keeping it there because he's a "picker" and always picks or peels scabs off before they are ready to come off. He even has scars from old scabs he's picked years ago. I told him if he even remotely touches the scab over that hole, that I will personally cut every one of his fingers off!  I'm mean, aren't I?  It's just that hole goes down into ultimately his intestines.  I don't want any repeat of infection or ANYTHING to land us back at square one again!!  Here's the pics for your viewing pleasure:

                

        NO DRAIN!!  Do ya like the neon green band-aid? :0)

Doesn't he look good, though?  He's pale, still, but his red blood cell count went from 8.2 to 10.  My mother-in-law's cooking is great AND very healing, since he is on NO iron supplements.  The only thing I have him on are Vitamin B Complex, Multivitamin, and his regular medications.  He can't really go out in the sun too much because of the medications he takes don't mesh well with sunlight.  If he sweats too much, his pain patches fall off or even worse, his body absorbs all the medication from it and he gets a little "loopy."  Luckily, that has happened only once. He sounded absolutely drunk that day and slept all day and all night!  So we try to keep him nice and cool. Which sometimes is very hard in steamy Arizona!!

Jackie feels left out, so I took a picture of him, too.  He is in his "house" which REALLY is his carrier. (Shhhh...don't tell him that!))  He loves his "house" and is in it quite frequently.  That or his little cat bed that I have right next to his "house."  He only wishes he could put the bed INSIDE the house....then he'd have it made!  But his bed is too big. :-(

Isn't he just adorable? He knows it, too.  Silly kitty!!!  He has both me AND my husband wrapped around his fuzzy tail!!  I just love his new "house", too. It's rugged and has rods inside that keep the ceiling up and the sides. His last carrier was awful....it was too soft and kept collapsing on him.  I've picked out from Amazon what looks closest to what Jack has now and the same price I paid for it, too.  I highly recommend it to any pet-owner!

Well, that pretty much is it.  I'm in a flare-up mode (when am I NOT is a better question!) and just so exhausted.  Like I can't ever make up sleep.  My limbs feel like heavy sand bags and when I get to my feet, all my weight just drops and my knees sometimes will buckle underneath me.  I cannot WAIT to start this Lap-band "journey" as they call it in their brochure.  Next Wednesday is the initial appointment where they tell me what insurance will pay and what we will pay.  I hope it's not too much....so please pray for me that it won't be bigger than the national debt! LOL!

Tim, the visiting nurse is coming over one last time to discharge Frankie off home health services.  I will miss him!  He's funny, nice and easy to talk to. Very helpful, too.  And then I have a doctor's appt. at 12:30.  Much to do yet I sit here playing on the computer.....

Be sure to check out my blog award page. I've entered more blog sites you MUST see...they are fantastic!  If you have a blog, leave the URL in my comments section and I will come visit your blog.  I love blog-hopping!

And PLEASE, please vote in my poll up above, to the left in the side bar. You can't miss it...it's the first item there.  I would greatly appreciate it!

You all have a fabulous Friday and a great weekend.  I hope you don't have flare-ups or pain of any kind, my friends.

God bless,
Until next post,
Missy

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1.03.01

Today WAS The Day!

Well, today my hubby is a very happy man. He is, at this moment in time, absolutely & completely DRAIN FREE!!!  The surgeon came in, looked at the output in the bulb (which wasn't much indeed!) and said, "are you ready to have the drain out?"  Duh!  Do bears crap in the woods?  Of course he wants that drain out! He wanted it out the day they put it in.  So now all he has on his belly is some antibiotic ointment and some gauze with tape.  The surgeon showed me the little hole he has left (where the drain was) and told me that tomorrow, he can change the gauze and just wear a band-aid until healed.  He wished us well and pretty much signed off the case.  Whew!  We finally completed THAT chapter in our life!!  Frankie called to make an appointment with his allergy specialist to resume his weekly shots.  We thought it best to get a professional opinion before starting the shots.  They are hard on the body as they are giving you stuff you are allergic to and he just is getting back on his feet.  I'd hate for a relapse!! So he sees the allergist this Thursday.

Boy, we are almost "normal" again!!  :0)  Hopefully nothing else will happen and we will go years and years without this thing bearing its ugly head.  Frankie will start back on the Gleevec at half strength starting tonight with dinner and then after a week, start full dosage again.

Be sure to check out the awards page. I've added two more terrific blogs onto it.  Be sure to stop by and visit them....tell 'em Missy sent ya!  :0)  And if you have your own blog, please let me know in the comment section of this post.  And please vote in the poetry poll....I need lots more votes to keep the poems coming, if you want that.

My feet have swollen so much, I couldn't wear that boot out to the second appointment today.  The velcro straps wouldn't stay on, my toes kept sticking out and I couldn't ever get the heel back far enough.  So now my arch is killing me on top of everything else.  So I'm gonna go put them up and take a nap, I think.

I hope this post finds you happy and well and as pain free as possible.
Hugs,
Until next post,
Missy

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1.03.01

Today Is Hopefully THE DAY...

that Frankie gets his drain removed!  I can't see how they would keep it in, since half of it is out of where it should be.  I can't even flush the darn thing anymore!  And the drainage has dwindled down to a mere fraction of what it used to be.  His belly looks so incredibly sore.  What with having that drain tube sticking out and some bruising (although every faint by this time) and his incision line through his abdomen.  Hopefully this will be the LAST surgery ever.  One can live in hope, can't they??  He's doing well otherwise. Vitals good, done with antibiotic course, no foul odor with drainage, appetite WAY good and NO nausea or vomiting in over a week.  I think we are finally out of the woods.  Of course, now I've just jinxed the whole thing by saying that!!!

Today will be very busy for Frankie & I.  He has his oncologist appt this morning at 10am and we'll be talking about the future of the Gleevec medication and what he will be restarted on if that's the decision made. I would be way more comfortable having him on at least half the dosage to make sure the residual tumor that couldn't be removed stays dead.  I don't trust this tumor....no sirree....not as far as I can throw it! LOL!  I think the doctor is in agreement with that as he said at the last appointment that he would be restarted on half a dose once they restart it.  So is today the day for that, too, I wonder?  We shall see.

Then we go for my lab work. Hard to believe that 6 weeks have passed. I have a standing order at the lab for it every 6 weeks.  Actually, I'm a day late, but I'm sure that won't be a problem.

After that, we go to Frankie's surgeon to have the drain removed. YAY!  That's at 2pm or thereabouts.  So we'll have a busy day. It'll feel good to get back home again.

I've been having a blast handing out my blog awards to various favorite blogs, but either the emails are getting lost or people are confused about what to do with them.  And NOBODY has left a comment so I can visit their blog.  Nobody like awards anymore?  When my mom and I were doing our website umpteen years ago, web awards were the rage and people collected them or had whole pages devoted JUST for their awards.  Maybe I'm out of the loop again with these awards.  Anyway, if you get an award from me, please put it on your blog (in blogger, you would add it in just like a picture or slideshow on the sidebar).  Or, you can write a new post about your award and add it on like you would a picture.  Hope this clears some confusion.  If you can add a link to my site, I'd appreciate it.  That's all I ask.

I've gotten only 5 votes in my poll about if you like my original poems in the blog.  The poll is up for two weeks, so PLEASE cast your vote.  I won't add any poems in until the poll closes.  It's completely annonymous, I won't know who voted what....I promise!  So please just vote.  :0)

That pretty much is it.  I'm getting around with my boot - boy, it sure is a conversation starter.  Everyone has asked what happened to my foot.  It really does help with that arch pain, though, so I can't complain about it.  I just wonder how I sprained my foot!  My back has been killing me, as usual, so I applied my TENS unit and it is better.  I find if I wear it one day on, one day off, my skin doesn't get near as irritated or itchy.  And I no longer use the conductive gel.  If you are interested in TENS units, check out Amazon:











OK, that's my sales pitch for TENS. Get one today...they are really great for back pain. I'm living testimony!

Hope you all have a great Labor Day and now it's back to work and school. Yuck! :-(  Although, I'd love it to work again and feel useful to society, instead of a leech, which is how I feel now.  So to those of you with jobs and can work, good for you....keep it up!!  The saying is definitely true: you truly don't know what you lost until it's gone.

God bless!
Until next post,
Missy

PS...I've added a new slideshow with a bunch of new pics and my family. If you are interested, you can find it by scrolling down on the sidebar. It's called "Down Memory Lane."  Hope you enjoy it!!

A Time To Change

Howdy, everyone!
I'm so sorry I haven't updated the blog in a few days. I have been working ON the blog, though, with decorating it for fall.  I decorated all my blog's pages (about me, my mom, ect.) with adorable fall critters from Helena of Graphic Garden.  She is my all time favorite graphic artist and I spent a good chunk of change to get the graphics when mom and I had the desktop theme website.  Then we stopped it and I worried about how I could utilize the graphics still.  Now I have this blog and it works out beautifully again!!  Yay!  So make sure to take a peak at those pages all decorated up! :0)

I have that new page, "Blog Awards" up and running. I haven't received any comments, though, regarding your blog's URL so I can visit.  Don't be shy - I love a wide variety of blogs and would love to see YOURS!  I also put new awards up. I think I kept just one of the "old" awards. I just didn't like how they looked.  So to those sites I just awarded with the old awards and you like the newer ones better, just let me know and you can have one of the new ones.  The new ones are soooo much cuter!

On the health front, nothing much going on here.  I think I told you in the last post that Frankie's drain moved out of where it should be, and we have no clue where it's at now!  So Tim, the home health nurse, talked with the doctor and they discontinued the flushes.  It figures.  We worked so hard to get the flushes (insurance won't pay for them) and now that I have a whole jug of normal saline, we can quit the flushes!!!  ARGH!!!  Life is so frustrating sometimes!!  Of course, he has his appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday, who will probably pull the drain anyway AND his oncologist and I have my rheumatology appt. on Wednesday.  So we have a busy week ahead of us.

Frankie is doing much better since we knocked back on the Savella.  I only give him 50mg at bedtime and that's it.  I think it was just too sedating for him and made him act like a "zombie."  Now he's talking more, laughing and interacting with the family.  I love it again!!  :0-)  Of course, it could have NOTHING to do with he is having his drain removed on Tuesday, now, could it? LOL!  He hates that drain and I can't say I blame him. I hate it, too!

I'm not doing so great.  My legs hurt so bad I'm on the border of just wanting to let out a primal scream of sheer pain and swollen beyond recognition feet!!!  I've been wearing that special boot on my left foot and it does help a lot to the regards that I no longer have that searing arch pain.  The calf on my right leg hurts so much, though, and it radiates to my whole leg.  I think the ridiculopathy is getting to me!!!  I've been using this neat gel called "Polar Frost." and it works even better than "Bio-Freeze" in my opinion.  It's not messy or smelly like some creams.  Here is a link to Amazon if you are interested in it.  I highly recommend it! You can buy it in small tubes, large pump bottles or a roll-on.










I also use a cream called "myoflex." which is excellent, too. It really IS odorless and non-messy, not like some other creams can be.  I really loathe smelling like a pharaceutical plant after I've rubbed on the smelly creams.  I tried 'em all and this one gets my two thumbs up.  The same with the "Polar Frost"...two thumbs up!  Here is a link for the "myoflex" cream.





That will about do it for this post. I've been so exhausted, I'm falling asleep everywhere again, especially at the computer!  I've got to find a way to get back into that deep, restorative sleep again.  Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?  I've totally exhausted all my ideas (PUN intended!)

Oh, one more last thing.  Way at the top of this page, in the left-hand side bar, I have a poll there I'd like you to partake in.  It is asking if you like it when I put my poetry in the blog.  I haven't gotten any "yay or nay" on it, and it does take work to convert the poem out of the word processing program into notepad so I can copy and paste it to the post.  If you guys like them, it's worth the effort.  If you don't, vote no and I won't waste the effort.  Effort is gold these days!!  The poll is annonymous, so don't worry about hurting my feelings. I won't know who says yes or no.  Just say something and help me out.  Thank you!!!

Hope you all have a blessed week ahead.
Love ya all!
Until next post,
Missys

My Big Foot

Hello, folks!

Well, as you know, yesterday I went to the foot doctor because my left foot has been hurting me something awful. The arch part especially. Every time I would stand and put full weight on it, it would hurt so much I would see explosions of stars going off in my brain-it hurt that much!  And everyone knows that when your feet hurt, your WHOLE body hurts!!

Anyway, I told the doctor that the steroid shot he gave me last time didn't do a thing.  So he said, "those shots ALWAYS work, which means your problem is different."  Of course. I'd hate to follow the same road everyone else does!  So he examined my foot and pressed on all the right places where I'd wince in pain or pull back.  He then took a look at my x-rays that I had taken when I was there two weeks ago and he said they looked good, even the "bad foot."  So he is saying I sprained the arch of my foot.  Which is entirely possible with all the moving we've done over the past year and then Mom and I trying to do the travel nursing circuit....I could have sprained it anywhere!

So the "cure" for this is a "moon boot" or "air cast" boot which I wear when I'm walking.  I can take it off to sleep and shower. At first, I thought I'd NEVER get used to it and I was afraid of falling because it set my center of balance off.  But then, today, I'm walking around the house wearing it and it isn't that bad.  I don't have that searing pain I used to get in that arch area.  So they may look goofy, but they are working against ONE of my painful areas!!  I took two pics of my new "boot."

Well, one thing I can say for it is that hopefully it will help keep my swelling down in that leg.  You can see the build-up of fluids in my calf region of my left foot.  And walking around is a lot easier and it gives that arch a rest so it can heal.  The doctor says it can take anytime to heal from two to three weeks to a month.  Everyone is different.  So I can expect to wear my special boot for a month!  At least it's nothing that requires surgery or anything like that to fix it.

The rest of me is so incredibly sore. My right hip region is giving me such fits of pain that I could just scream.  The humidity is up there and I think that is why I'm in such agony. I see a lot of other "fibromytes" are having problems, too.  So it definitely is something in the air!!!

I don't know if you've seen it yet, but I added a new page to my blog called "New-Blog Awards."  I've seen a few sites that have awards on them and they are so cute and it recognizes to the owners how very hard it can be to get a blog up and running and have it be of quality work.  So every blog I see that fits my requirements, I will give them an award for their hard work.  So please check out the new page and leave me a comment with your blog's URL and you could be the next person I give an award to!!!

That pretty much is all the news around here. Frankie's drain is draining more on the outside.....on his dressing instead of in the drain.  The visiting nurse thinks the tube has migrated outside of the wound.  So I'm not to flush it until he has spoken to the doctor.  If I haven't heard from him by 5pm, I'm to give him a call.  It would be such as a shame to have to have it re-insterted and then removed on the 7th!  The wound looks good: no redness, swelling or unusual pain.  It's just not draining to well inside the bulb like it should.  Complications, complications!  That's our middle name, think!

You all have a great day and God bless you all,
Until next post,
Missy                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Early Morning Rising

Good morning, everyone!

I remember when I would be working nights, I would always take about ten-fifteen minutes right around sunrise time.  The Arizona sky would light up into a brilliant spectrum of colors....red, orange and blue.  Of course, after my little break, I'd have to go back to work and it would start the busy time: patients getting up, moving around, washing up, getting ready for breakfast.  We would be running around like chickens with our heads cut off until report time.  But I still remember that one brief period of quiet time and watching the sunrise and thinking back over my life (to see if I forgot anything!) and thinking ahead to see where I'm going.  It's a great time to reflect on life.

I'm no longer working, but I still love the sunrise.  I get up at 5am and everyone is still asleep, so it's so nice and quiet and peaceful.   This is when I do my emails and blogging most of the time because it's easier to think and not be interrupted.  Unfortunately, this early time is when I miss my mom the most.  I remember her picking me up from work and we'd get breakfast and watch "Charmed" reruns while we ate.  The guys would be alseep, still and we could talk about anything.  Now I'm missing my early morning buddy more than anything in the world!!  You'd think after 2 years, I wouldn't be so nostalgic all the time, but if anything, I think as time passes I'm even MORE nostalgic about my mom.  Does it ever end?  I know I'll never forget her (I think of her everyday), but will it get easier and not hurt as much when I think of her?  I can only wonder.

Nothing much else to report. Frankie is doing well, drain and all.  When I empty his abdominal drain, I get anywhere from 5cc-20cc's out.  Hopefully he can have that removed when he sees the surgeon Sept. 7th.  Every time when the visiting nurse comes out, he says the drain site is looking really good and Frankie's vitals are in normal range.  I check them periodically, too, and they have been normal for me, too.  I'm just glad that the hospital ordeal seems to be over with!  Knock on wood....such as my hard head! LOL!

I'm still in the fibro flare-up I had all last week, although I think it has lifted somewhat.  I am still so very stiff (especially upon waking) and my left foot is still very sore. I go back to the podiatrist on Tuesday so I'll mention that the shot he gave me didn't help at all.  Speaking of fibro, I want to mention a very good book called "Fibromyalgia For Dummies."  It is very informative and educational.  Check it out on Amazon.com.  I've made it very easy - just click on the link to the left and it'll take you right there. You can buy it either new or used.  I've bought a lot of stuff from Amazon and think they are the BEST on the 'net. I've also got a "ferris wheel" of fibro books from Amazon at the top of my blog that you can take a look at.  Or, you can do your own search using the widget below to look for Amazon merchandise.  Am I just a shop-a-holic's dream? LOL....

I don't know if I've blogged this yet, and if I have, bear with me.  I will be seeing the bariatric surgeon on Sept. 15th and have a conference with him (or her), the nutritionist, the physical therapist and case manager.  It's a whole team and program that I will be involved in.  They ran my insurance and I DO have benefits and they will go over that on the 15th.  My mother-in-law will come with.  BOTH my in-laws are so sweet as they will be helping me with what my insurance WON'T cover, so I can go through with the surgery and program. I am soooo very happy and grateful and ecstatic!  (Am I something else or what...being excited over SURGERY! LOL!)  Of course, I will owe them until kingdom come, but if it gets my life back or an even better one where I can move around a lot easier because I won't have all this weight holding me down, it'll be more than worth it.  So I will be undergoing this program and I will keep everyone updated on my progress with pictures.  This way, I'll have to stay on the program as I won't want to look like a fool in front of everybody!

Alrighty, that pretty much is it. To end this post, I'll include a video I took in San Diego of my mom and grandma walking through the surf on Mission Beach.  I'm so glad I have these videos, even though they have no sound, I can see her moving again.  I cherish each video and picture I have.  I hope that you cherish your family's members and heritage. You only have ONE shot in this life to make a difference, so make it a good one!!  That's my "pearl" of wisdom for the day.  Whew...it tuckered me out, might have to take a nap.....

God bless ya!
Until next post,
Missy

Lap-Band Seminar

Howdy, fine folks!

Hope everything is A-OK in your world on this "hump" day of the week!  When I was in school, I liked Wednesdays as it meant we were half the way there to Friday. I liked Fridays EVEN MORE, as that meant the weekend and sleeping in.  Ahhh, thinking back to my youth always makes me think hard at how so many things I considered "problems" then are just a little bump on the road of life.  I didn't have the fibro then, or the arthritis. I was healthy - a little on the plump side - I've battled the bulge for many, many years now. I only took an aspirin if I had a headache, which was not very often.  Problems then consisted of a run in your nylon or no chap stick or lipstick on your teeth that you didn't discover until the END of the day!  The problems of now are so much more serious (our crumbling economy, unemployment is up, famine, earthquakes, you get the picture!) and I am no longer the picture of health.  In fact, my medication list is as long as my arm! When I fill out new patient forms and they ask what meds I'm taking I always say "see med list" as I carry a med list with me all the time.  It makes life so much easier!!  I highly recommend that everyone make out a medication list and stick it in your pocket or purse. You won't believe how handy it is to have!

OK, I'll get off my soap box now.  Last night my hubby and I went to Banner Estrella for the lap-band seminar.  My hubby has been enjoying getting out into the open air and has been coming along with me on many of our errands. I think it helps to build up his strength more.  He can hide the drain under his shirt and nobody would even know he has a drain.  Anyway, there were about 10 people who attended and the marketing lady who was doing the seminar. She said that unfortunately, all the bariatric surgeons were busy last night and could make it to the seminar.  Of course! Just my luck!  The marketing lady (due to fibro fog I can't for the life of me remember her name!) did an excellent job of explaining the various surgeries. The Lap-Band, gastric bypass and something called a "gastric sleeve" which is almost like the bypass, but they don't do anything with the intestines like the bypass does.  They cut a portion of the stomach and make it into a pouch that serves as the "new stomach." This pouch is shaped like a banana.  I want the Lap-Band procedure and ONLY that. No surgery to re-route my intestines. There's a lot of risks and complications to that (like dumping syndrome because food is rapidly shunted to the small intestine from the stomach and causes terrible cramps, sweating, fainting, ect.)  The gastric sleeve, even though it leaves the intestines alone and your body has normal digestion, it is non-reversible.

Now for the bad part. Money. The lady collected our forms that we had to fill out for insurance coverage and she was going to have them processed to see what our individual coverage would be, if any.  I should be getting a call within a few days to go and have my initial appointment with a bariatric surgeon, dietician and psychologist and they would go over my insurance and financing.  NOT counting the surgery, there are costs that are out of pocket.  To enroll in their program, it's $500.00.  The psychological exam is $400.00 and the three year diet and exercise program is another $1000.00.  So I'm very, very nervous that I won't be able to do this.  The lady said that for the severely, morbidly obese with a BMI over 40 (mine is 54), the life expectancy to 65 years of age is only 35%.  I'm scared that this is my only option, as I've been dieting for two years now and my weight loss has stopped.  I've even GAINED weight. And my feet are tree trunks.  I just need a miracle!!  I may be seeing my mom sooner than I think in Heaven!

There are financing options available, but with my husband and my bankruptcy and credit history, that option IS history.  Nobody is going to loan us money.  I'm just every scared and nervous and anxious that everything costs so much and I've got nothing!!  I think I'm starting to hyperventilate!  OK, calm down, Missy.  I'll just see what happens.  Please God, do your miracles!

Hope everyone has a good day and I really appreciate all the kind and loving support you have given me.  I value each and everyone of you!!  :0)

God bless ya,
Until next post,
Missy

Charlie

Well, we just got back from Frankie's surgery appointment and unfortunately, the doctor felt it just wasn't time to remove the drain.  Even though we prepped ourselves on the way there to NOT get our hopes up, I could tell that Frankie was terribly disappointed.  And he will have another appointment in two MORE weeks and then the doctor said for sure he will remove the drain.  He promised us!!!  While I hate seeing Frankie disappointed, I am glad that the surgeon is being safe about the whole thing.  If he takes it out too soon, the fluid will accumulate in the abdomen again and Frankie would have a lot of problems.  We don't want that.  So, I told Frankie, maybe if he called his drain a name and personalized it some, it would be a funny joke and having it wouldn't be so bad.   Hey, I'm desperate here!!  So Frankie's drain's name is "Charlie."  Isn't that cute for a drain?  LOL.....I think I've finally gone off the deep end!!!

When I checked my email awhile ago, I got a pleasant surprise! Wellsphere Healthcare Bloggers site emailed me and gave me their "Top Healthcare Blog" badge to put on my blog....along with other little goodies. They told me my blog is an excellent addition to their fibromyalgia community! Check out the health tip for the day and the medical search box. And my new badge is proudly displayed on the right side panel.  :0)

That's all the news so far.  I am still very stiff and sore and my heel is killing me. Whatever the foot doctor thought it was the last time, I can assure him it's NOT....my foot hurts more than it did before!  So tomorrow I'll call the foot doc back and see what the heck is wrong.  It feels like that plantar fascitis.  I don't know if I can get another injection so soon into it, as with steroids you have to be so careful not to get too much.  I'll just see what happens.

God bless you all!
Until next post,
Missy

Down The Drain

Hello, fine friends!
I hope this post finds you all happy and as pain-free as possible.  Unfortunately, for me, I've been battling severe leg/feet pain for so long now, I feel they are a part of me.  I am so tired of waking up and feeling like I'd been rolled over by a steam roller.  I'm so stiff, I have to sit at the side of the bed for a half hour before that first agonizing step.  And I always have to use the bathroom really badly, but I've got a "bladder" of steel and I can hold it until I can painfully limp to the bathroom.  When I was working as a floor nurse, I rarely had time to even breathe or have lunch, let alone use the bathroom, so I probably got my "bladder of steel" from that experience.

I guess I'm still "paying that piper" from when Frankie was in and out of the hospital this summer.  That really took it out of me and my mother-in-law, who has arthritis and fibromyalgia, too.  She has had rheumatoid arthritis since the age of 12! Poor thing! That is when all the fun starts with being a teenager and with running around town looking for boys (that's what I did when I was a teen, anyway!) and going to dances and just being active.  I can't even begin to imagine having juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. I've always told her I really admire her for getting so much done in her life (raising three children AND working a full time job!) with the limitations of arthritis.  Her hands/wrists are really bad and she has had surgery on her toes to correct them as they were laying on top of one another and posed a great infection risk.  Her feet look great! I wish something could be done about her hands, though. They are crippled from the arthritis and her wrists are fused. 

Anyway, we stuck it out because we love Frankie and would support him in any way we could.  I would CRAWL to the hospital to see him, he is that important to me.  Luckily, though, I don't have to crawl. We have a great car that takes us wherever we want to go...as long as we have gas in it!! :0) I'm just so happy that he is home and it looks like he is here to stay.  Today is the surgery appointment and the million dollar question is: will he remove the drain or leave it in?  We're not getting our hopes up this time.  That way, we'll be pleasantly surprised if he pulls it OR we'll accept it if he doesn't pull it.  What else can we do?

I took two pictures of my "patient."  The first one shows Frankie with his shirt up, to show off the drain so you can have a visual idea of what the heck I'm talking about when I mention his drain. The tubing goes to the little suction bulb hanging down his left leg.  He's healed up nicely from the surgery, as you can see the long incision down his belly.

The second picture is of Frankie doing what he loves most....the computer.  He still is very weak and somewhat pale, as you might be able to tell from the photo.  But each day gets easier and I think once the drain is out, he will feel a lot better.  It's almost like an anchor weighing him down, reminding him constantly of his recent surgery and staying in the hospital for so long.

Maybe today will be THE day he can throw that blasted drain "down the drain" at his appointment!!  Good riddance is what I say!  Although, that drain is what made it possible for him to be at home instead of in the hospital with a partial bowel obstruction, all hooked up to the IV nutrition and the NG tube down in his stomach.  But I think it's served its purpose, though, and he's had it in for two weeks now. Time to go in my humble opinion.

OK, enough talk about that.  You probably have noticed I've made some changes to my blog. I found some really cute backgrounds from "Cutest Blog On The Block."  The link for it is way at the top left hand corner, where their logo is.  Best thing about these backgrounds is that they are FREE.  My price!  And they have oodles to choose from, and not just backgrounds. They have blinkies and buttons for your blog, too.  So if you have a blog and want to spice it up some, head on over to "Cutest Blog On The Block."  They are so easy to use and their instruction page is easy to follow.  Heck, if I can install 'em, so can you! :0)

The second change I did was add a jukebox to my blog so you can listen to some great tunes while visiting my blog. If you really don't want to have it play, just take your mouse and hit the pause or stop button on the player.  As you can tell, I'm a HUGE fan of Michael W. Smith and the Irish boy band, "Westlife."  They ROCK!!  Makes me feel like a teeny bopper again....well, not quite.....

That'll do for this post. I really hope each and every one of you is OK and getting plenty of rest, eating well, all that jazz that we SHOULD do, but never quite do.  I know, I'm one of them!!  I'm sticking pretty close to my diet, but I never get enough rest.  My back is killing me and I can't lay on either side because then the opposite side starts in with the nerve pain that shoots down my legs.  So I'm stuck on my back. Thank God for the elevation wedge I got for my legs and it also takes pressure off my lower back.  If I didn't have that, I'd go nuts as I wouldn't sleep at ALL.   Ho-hum, the life of one with lumbar disc disease, fibromyalgia and arthritis.  It just keeps getting better and better!

God bless ya!
Until next post,
Missy

PS....Tomorrow we go to the seminar for the Lap-Band.  Yay!  I'm really excited to see what they have to say about it - how it works, how much weight you should lose, ect.  I just want to get on the road and start it already!!!!  I'm tired of waiting.....life is full of "hurry up and wait!"

Unsettled

Hello, all!

I've noticed in all my "blog journeys" that a lot of people are having flare-ups. A lot of people are depressed, in pain, confused and just plain exhausted.  I feel very "unsettled" myself.  My hands are shaky, my legs are riddled with horrible spasms that take my breath away and I'm having whole body jerks at times.  I can't even begin to say what medicine is responsible for the above, if any. I take so much stuff to get through the day, it's ridiculous. I made a list and counted out my medications and I take 23 medications a day!!!  I kid you not.  Every time I go to the doctor, seems like we are adding one more and not taking any away.  It is my hope that if I get the Lap-band procedure and can lose weight, I can get rid of the hypertension and diabetes medications.  Maybe even go down on the prednisone.  Wouldn't that be nice?  Maybe I would even get my face back, instead of looking like the surface of the moon!

My feet are still huge, absolutely NO improvement has been made. I haven't had "normal" looking feet since February, after I got the back injections.  That "Baxter's nerve" thingy in my heel is still killing me, so I'm limping around the house as I can't put full weight on either leg without severe pain.  I just finished putting away a few dishes and I'm so sweaty, you'd think I just came back from a 5 mile jog!  I just feel absolutely helpless and useless!!  Trapped inside myself.  Have you ever felt that way?

My husband has been very quiet since coming home from the hospital. I've asked him a million times if something is wrong, is he upset about something, or in pain and the answer is always no.  But he has changed since coming home.  I think it's just post-op depression and dragging around that JP drain doesn't help.  It's almost like you can't forget about the surgery and move on while you still have a drain pulling you down!!  Tomorrow he has the surgeon's appointment and maybe he can be rid of the drain.  It still is draining a little bit of fluid, but the color hasn't changed nor does it have that horrible smell before he went into the hospital for the pseudomonas infection.  I hope this mood of his lifts soon.  Between that and my feeling "unsettled", I'm a nervous wreak!! I hope this feeling I have is just a reaction to everything that has ALREADY happened, NOT what is yet to come.  I can't take much more.....I'm tapped out!!  Filled to the top!

Well, it's almost time for my luxurious afternoon siesta.  I'll put my feet up, get comfy cozy and "read" my book....with my eyes closed! That's what has been happening lately. I go to read and the next thing I know, the book is on the floor and two hours have passed.  And I still feel just as tired after as I did before my nap!  Gosh, I love this damn fibromyalgia.  It just makes you feel so good!!!  ARGH!!!!!!!!

I'm sorry about this post.  As you can tell, I'm in "fibro fog" and can't be held responsible for my actions..LOL!  Things will be OK, I keep telling myself. They just have to be.

Hope you all are doing OK.
Until next post,
Missy

"Paying The Piper"

Howdy, everyone!

My father would always say, "time to pay the piper" and I never could quite grasp that concept until I got older and contracted fibromyalgia.  Now I feel like I'm "paying the piper" ALL the time for EVERYTHING I do!  The events of this summer are all starting to hit me now. I was on "auto pilot" for a great part of the summer, during Frankie's surgery and subsequent hospitalizations. Now it feels like my "auto pilot" has bailed out on me and all that's left is severe exhaustion.  I've even too tired to feel tired.  Every bone and muscle aches all the way down into my inner core.  No matter what I do or what I take, it doesn't matter.

Yesterday I went to the foot doctor because I was having severe heel and arch pain in my left foot.  I had plantar fascitis a few years back and thought that is what this is now.  The doctor doesn't think so, he thinks it's an inflammation of "Baxter's nerve."  What I wanna know is WHO is Baxter and why is HIS nerve in MY body?  LOL....  Anyway, all kidding aside, he gave me a shot in my heel area (ouch!) and I see him again in two weeks for another shot.  Since I'm diabetic, he also is going to trim away at my ingrown big toe nail and that will help with balance.  He said I do a good job at clipping my nails.  This surprised me very much as I can barely SEE my nails, let alone clip 'em correctly!

Frankie is doing well, just very tired and weak. Holed up in the hospital day after day will do that to you. He's glad to be at home, in his own bed with his lovely wife at his side. (That would be me!)  His drain is still draining, but not as much and it has no smell now, which is absolutely heavenly. Before, it smelled like something from Hell that had creeped up.  Pseudomonas infections do have a weird smell - sometimes it's a fruity type smell and other times it smells like spoiled soil.  He will be seeing the surgeon on Monday and dare we hope the drain will be removed?  I hope so!  But I have been very diligent in taking care of it - the dressing, flushing and emptying. I've sanitized everything - including Frankie! LOL....

Today we went to see Frankie's pain specialist. The Oxy IR that he was on for breakthrough pain just wasn't enough and he was taking the maximum dosage. He has pain in his abdomen where the drain enters the skin and on the right side of his abdomen.  His legs aren't too bad anymore because he hasn't had the Gleevec since the middle part of June. That was placed on hold because of the surgery and now because of the infection in his drain.  Anyway, in the hospital they had him on Percocet, and it actually was working, so they sent him home on enough until we could get to the pain specialist.  Frankie's specialist is so incredibly nice and caring - he said that "if it works, we'll continue that"   He didn't want to increase the Fentanyl patch because he believes this abdomen pain is temporary and as soon as the drain is out, he will feel better.

 I feel just absolutely wrung out. Even breathing is an effort I'm too tired to take.  And this heat just drags on and on.  I can't wait for winter to come and here in AZ, winters are great!!  All sunshine and beautiful weather to get out and walk and do things that you enjoy doing.

Well, that's all the news here.  I hope you all have a blessed weekend and spend some much needed time with family and friends.  Eat well, get plenty of rest and....yeah, right!  This coming from me? The girl who loves fast foods and doughnuts? LOL....  Now, that was the OLD me. The NEW me is going to go through this lap band procedure and eat right and exercise as much as I can handle.  I can't wait to start my new adventure!!

Love ya all!
Until next post,
Missy

                                                                                  

He's Baaaaack!

Howdy, fine friends!

A real familiar feeling is starting to come over me. One where I get into the car and go get my husband from the hospital, only to turn around and take him back in after one week.  Hopefully this was the LAST time we have to to do this.  Frankie's WHOLE summer was basically spent in the hospital!  So now he still has the same drain in, but I insisted on more than two flushes to flush it. I mean, really. They want me to flush it every four hours....with what, air?!!  I already spoke with Tim, the home health nurse, and he was receiving orders about the flushes, too.  Maybe with the order being that specific, we'll get the supplies he needs.  The day shift nurse that did the discharge was such a sweetie that she gave me 10 flushes and a stack of alcohol pads.  So when he came home, we ate and then I fiddled with the drain. I irrigated it and it went in nice and smooth. Nothing much came out, but I know it's patent or it wouldn't have flushed as easily as it did. I'm just going to keep a hawk's eye out on it!!!  I guess it's that inner nurse inside me again, bursting to come out!!!

Now that all has been said and done with Frankie and he is finally on the mend, it's my turn for treatment.  I can't begin to tell you which foot hurts worse-my right or my left.  My right has been hurting for quite some time with muscle spasms in the calf.  I upped the magnesium and it seemed to help for awhile, but I don't know if all the driving I've been doing has irritated it even more.  Could very well be.  And now I've got a NEW problem with my left foot where it is killing me! I can't even stand to bear weight on it hardly.  I must look a drastic sight waddling with my walker down the sidewalk outside the hospital!!  A few years back, I had plantar fascitis in my right foot and I received a cortisone injection there and it actually took all the pain away within a day or two and I could go back to work.  So tomorrow, I have an appointment with a foot doctor about my ingrown toenail on my right foot (which is why the appointment was made in the first place) and I will be mentioning the new, much worse pain in my left foot.  I tell ya, my body is falling apart on me and I can't seem to keep it together!!  Maybe some superglue will do.........LOL!

And then, to top things off, we were getting out of the car to get my hubby's prescriptions filled and he noticed that our wheel hubcap was off on the passenger side.  I know it was there at the hospital, so we think someone ripped it off!  Isn't that just too much?  We are on stress over load that it's gonna take a YEAR to get over this past summer!!!   But, at least Frankie is back home and hopefully to stay this time.  Must be his labs were OK and no more anemia, or we would have heard about it, I'm sure.  I was so fixated on making sure I get supplies for the drain that I forgot to ask about his lab numbers.

Well, that is it for now, folks.  I am so tired I can barely keep my peepers open.  Frankie is already in bed, TV on, fast asleep.  God bless him, I hope his ordeal is over with finally.

And God bless you all, my friends and family. Thank you for your love and support.  I couldn't have done it without ya!!!

Until next post,
Hugs,
Missy                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Down Day

Good morning (or evening-depending on where you are) my dear friends!

It's kind of funny in the way that I had started this post a few days ago and had it interrupted by my husband's medical crisis and readmission to the hospital.  I put it on hold and can just now finally come back to it and finish it.

I have had such a wide array of emotions lately. The biggest of them being depression.  I'm on two anti-depressants for the fibro and yet I still am depressed! Go figure.  When I look back on my life, in my eyes, I just don't see much that I've accomplished.  I'm not world famous for some invention, I'm not Mother Theresa (not even close!) nor have I written that New York Times Bestseller novel I always promised myself I'd do.  I love writing and it is my main mode of communication.  Growing up with a speech impediment, you find anyway to express yourself - without speaking - and my mode was written word.  Now, I HAVE written a lot of poems, but that's about it. And now just recently, I've started this blog.  Hard to believe I've been blogging for almost three months now.  So much has happened in those three months, it's hard to believe!

My husband and I have had such a hard time of it these past few years.  We've never lived alone - just him and I.  We lived with my parents for ten years because they couldn't afford rent AND to eat, and we couldn't afford our rent, their food bill AND our own bills, so we decided to consolidate households and we lived together until my mom died in 2008.  Now my dad is living in a senior apartment complex in Michigan and my hubby and I are living with HIS parents now, because I can't work due to my low back issues and the fibro and my husband can't work because of his cancer and the medication to treat it causes severe bone and joint pain. He is on disability - they approved him the first time.  Me-I've applied, been rejected, filed an appeal, been rejected again, and am now waiting for a hearing.  I don't know if my lawyer is real or not, I've never seen her face-to-face.  She only does business over the phone.  What's up with that? Do I know how to pick 'em or what?  I haven't heard from her in months and with all the drama going on with first my dad and then my hubby, I've let things slip a little.  If only the folks at Social Security could see me and how I function....or DON'T function....it would be a different story.  I don't know what hurts worse on me - my left foot or right calf - and I have this pain on a daily basis, regardless of all the medications I take.  It just seems like pain, lack of good sleep and keeping my husband OUT of the hospital are all my life is made up to do.  Anyone ever feel like that sometimes?

OK, I'll knock it off now.  We have a roof over our head, and a very nice one, too. I even have something I've wanted my whole life....an awesome sister-in-law and brother-in-law!!  I thank Frankie for sharing them with me. :0)  Even if I were to be approved for disability, it would make my life HARDER (yes, you read right) as then I'd lose my state health benefits because we would be over the limit on earnings.  So my disability check would go for doctor's appointments, labs and medications.  I just feel so bad for being a "leech" on my in-laws for two years now.  I wish I could contribute in some way. I can't even do housework with how bad my back is and now my feet with the plantar fascitis.  Every time I stand, it takes my breath away!  I know my in-laws are itchin' to get into their Winnebago and hit the high road, but with my hubby in and out of the hospital so often now, they are afraid to go and leave us for any period of time.  It just is so unfair! When will we get a break? ARGH!!!!!!!

OK, sorry. I really will knock it off now!  On Thursday I go to the foot doctor to see what can be done about my in-grown toenail on my right foot and the severe pain in my left foot.  So we'll take care of that.  My hubby is doing better, no more fever, but he is on potent IV antibiotics.  Last night they took him down to radiology to look at the drain and possibly replace it, but it didn't need replacement.  They injected it with a clot buster medication and it's working fine.  I flushed it once a day when he was home....that's all I could do with the limited amount of flushes I had.  Even Tim was having a hard time getting them at the home health agency!  He said they only gave out flushes to patients with PICC lines or other IV ports. NOT drains.  What kind of crazy, stupid arrangements is THAT?  If insurance companies would just listen to how stupid their rules are, I'll bet they would change some of them!

Now I'm worried that my state insurance plan won't cover the LapBand procedure I want to undergo.  I go to that seminar Aug. 24th and then make an appt. with the bariatric surgeon.  I read on the LapBand website that some insurances won't cover it and they have these financial plans you can apply for.  But with our credit history, nobody is crazy enough to approve our application!  And I just feel like this is my final hope. I've quit losing weight, in fact now I'm gaining again!  The last few doc appointments I've had shown an upward rise on the weight scales!  And I'm not doing anything differently or cheating by eating a whole Sara Lee cake!  I think it's water retention, as my feet are still very swollen.  If I could have this LapBand surgery, I believe it would help in so many ways.  With the water retention, my back (maybe I could even work again!) and it would take a lot of weight off of my legs and feet.  I'm almost afraid to get my hopes up when I see the surgeon because I'm fearful they will just come crashing back down around my swollen ankles!  But nothing ventured, nothing gained as the saying goes.  Just pray that my insurance covers this operation!!

I guess I'll close this post and get on with the day and see where it takes me.  I'll see my hubby around noon, as I noticed that the chances of getting a good parking space is right around then.  I've had ample opportunity to study the parking lot, that's for sure!  I have it memorized by now.  My husband just HAS to get better and stay out of that place for longer than a week!!

Thank you for reading this and listening to me blather on about my problems. Hope I didn't bore you too much.  I really appreciate all my followers and all my friends.  If not for you and my family & the Good Lord above, I would have given up long ago.

Have a good day and remember to have some fun, too.  Life isn't all worries and work....THANK GOD!!!  I keep telling myself this over & over....

Love ya all,
Until next post,
Missy

When Will This Misery End?

Howdy, folks!

I bet with a post title like that you are guessing that something major is up. And you would be very correct!  I hate to say this, but FRANKIE IS BACK IN THE HOSPITAL AGAIN!!  

Let me start the story out by saying that we think he has an infection in the JP drain in his abdomen.  A few days ago, he standing up by me and I noticed that his drain looked funny to me.  It hanging almost upside down.  I started to feel the tubing when I realized that the drain had come apart and the tubing connector was loose enough to not be able to hold the other end of the tubing in place.  So, he was walking around for God knows how long with the drain open like that!  Any germ could crawl around in there!!  I swabbed it with alcohol really good and reconnected it.  But I still worried about it and unfortunately, I think my worries have come true about the infection part.

Anyway, a few days ago he started sweating profusely in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday night.  That is so UNLIKE him to sweat. I'm the one who sweats like a pig and looks like I just came from a water fight!  So, my mother-in-law and I made him drink, drink, drink....and Powerade, no less, which he doesn't like but drank it anyway.  With two women standing over him, he had no choice in the matter!!  He couldn't go back to bed until he drank the proper amount of fluids.

And then yesterday, he replaced the sweating profusely with the shaking chills.  He shook the whole bed, like one of those beds in some motels where you put the quarter in and it will "massage" you.  I kept checking his temp and it would read 97.3 one time and then 96.3 the other time.  His blood pressure was OK, but his heart rate was 150.  I looked at him closely and he was still very pale with deep, dark circles until his eyes.  His eyes looked sunken in his head.  My poor baby. I just feel so damn helpless!!  WHEN WILL THIS MISERY END???????????

I called my mother-in-law first, who was over at a friend's house having pizza.  She suggested to call the visiting nurse first, which was my thinking too.  Tim, the visiting nurse, can get to the doctors better than a "lay person" that goes through the answering service and gets absolutely no where.  Been there, done that, don't want to do it again!  So I called Tim and told him the situation.  I told him that for a day now I have noticed a foul odor from the drainage when I'd empty the drain.  It had a "mildewy" smell to it and was very strong.  I thought it looked cloudy, too, but mixed with blood, it's hard to tell.  The drainage didn't look like it did before when he first came home from the hospital.  He also was having some brown crusty drainage from the exit site on the drain on his abdomen.  And he only had out 10cc's the past two days.  I don't know if that's a good thing (meaning the hematoma has resolved itself) or a bad thing (meaning it's clogged and needs to be replaced again).  It flushed beautifully and fluid would return right back out like it was supposed to.  Tim thought I should take him to the Urgent Care because of the drainage issue and probably a high temp would be coming on very soon.  I agreed and took Frankie to the Urgent Care.

The doctor at the Urgent Care was very nice and said, "he's had a big surgery and a complicated case. He should go back to the facility where all this happened and have them work it up."  He asked Frankie if he was OK to go by private vehicle and Frankie was.  The doctor said he would call ahead to the hospital and let them know we are coming.  So back into the car we went to the friendly neighborhood ER.  I was hoping to stay away from the ER, but no doing.  At the ER, his temp had climbed to 101.6.  They gave him some Tylenol, did two EKG's (because his heart rate persisted in the 150's range - probably because of the temperature.)  They cultured his blood and the fluid in the drain. They gave him 2 liters of IV fluids to rehydrate him. And he had yet ANOTHER CT scan of his abdomen to look for "pockets of pus" that would indicate abdominal infection.

By the time he a room on the 5th floor, it was nearing midnight and I was exhausted.  My right leg was cramping every five minutes and I think I have plantar fascitis forming in my left foot.  I had it a few years back in my other foot and they gave me a cortisone shot with lidocaine and it worked like a charm.  It even went away and I haven't had a problem with it since.  I'm not looking forward to needles in my heel, but you "gotta do what you gotta do" is my new motto!!!  And when I think about my hubby going through all he's gone through this summer, that problem just pales in comparison!  But yet he is always thinking and worrying about me.  He asks a million times how I am holding up with all this.  Anyway, as I was leaving the emergency room, I went the wrong way and had to re-route myself the right way.  By that time, my feet were just absolutely screaming!  I had tears in my eyes it hurt so bad.  Finally I got to the car and plopped down in the driver's seat - after I wrangled my walker into the trunk.

I still just feel positively exhausted, and I did manage to sleep a little last night.  I hope he won't be in the hospital for too long. You should have seen his face when the ER doc said he should stay, just to be on the safe side.  But what can you do?  That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. LOL! A little humor among all the bleakness!!!

I should get ready to go to the hospital. Hope you all are well. I will keep you posted on the situation just I know it.  Thank you for all your kind thoughts & prayers.  We really appreciate it.

Until next post,
Missy

No News Is....No News

Howdy, friends!

Well, it's been almost one week since Frankie has been home from the hospital.  It's soooo good to have him home! And he is finally beginning to heal and catch up on much needed sleep.  You just can't sleep in hospitals...I've worked in and been a patient in a hospital and with all the blood pressure readings and lab coming in at 3am to get blood...how can ANYONE rest with all the activity? 

Frankie had his CT scan on Thursday; he could finally take the contrast and keep it down.  No nausea or vomiting with it, either.  It was fruit punch in color, but he said it tasted like crap and was glad to get the three cups down.  I told him, (because he hates fruit) he would drink contrast that was "fruit flavored" but he wouldn't want to try the real thing with a real glass of fruit juice.  It's good!!!  I just don't get how someone can pass over a whole food group like he does with fruits!   Anyway, we haven't heard a thing from either the surgeon or the oncologist about the CT results.  So I figure everything is OK or someone would be on the horn with us!!

Frankie's home visits with the nurse are coming a long very well. I really like Tim. He is so funny and puts you right at ease.  He never seems rushed and we can ask questions and he always gives us a complete answer. He doesn't even answer his cell phone when he is with a client. He has voice mail that he uses when he is between visits, then he can call back whomever called while he was with us.  He gave me a whole bunch of dressing supplies in case the gauze dressing comes off from showering or whatever- I can just change it and not have to bother him and have to come back for a simple dressing change.  The fluid is getting less and less and it irrigates well. No clots in the tubing, thank goodness!  I suspect that Frankie will be losing the drain this coming week.  That would be so nice, as Frankie has had a period of depression with everything that went on.  The poor guy went through quite an ordeal - who wouldn't be a little depressed?  I figured that driving again would cheer him up and it did.  So I turned the driving back over to my hubby, the cab driver! LOL!  And not a moment too soon!

I think the driving is what really has my leg in an uproar.  It hurts so bad and all the time, it's driving me nuts.  I've increased my magnesium, hoping that would help. And I'm using my myoflex cream and polar frost gel like it's going out of style.  They all help a little, but not too much.  Last night I could finally use my TENS unit again, the rash on my back has totally cleared up.  This time, I tried a new experiment and just put the electrodes on as is-with NO conductive gel.  And so far, so good. NO rashes or itchy skin....yet.  Wouldn't be nice if that's all that rash was, just an irritation from the conductive gel? And I have to say, the unit works even better without the gel!

I am in such flare-up from everything that has happened. No surprise there.  The daily drill of going to the hospital, finding a parking space within a 5 mile radius, getting the walker out and plodding up to the room for 30 days plus can really wear a person out!!  But I love my hubby dearly and he is worth every visit I paid him and more.  I would do it all again if need be, but hopefully NOT anytime too soon!!  Frankie definitely would like that too!!

Nothing much else to report. It's been so hot here, they have an "excessive heat warning" on until Monday.  Temps up to 115 expected.  Luckily, we don't have much planned for the coming week, except for my podiatrist appt on Thursday for an ingrown toenail.  I'm also diabetic and it's time for my yearly foot check, too.  Oh, joy, oh bliss!  The more one can stay inside during this weather, the better.  You could fry an egg on the roof of your car!  I keep reminding myself, "I live here because the winters are beautiful. No snow, no ice."  And it works...especially if I'm in front of a nice big fan with air conditioning pouring down on me!

It's been awhile since I've put a poem in my post, so I will do that this time. I hope you enjoy it.  All poems are the creations of my imagination and completely original.  :0)

I See A Jesus                       

When I look
At the picture on my wall
I see a Jesus in a way
I've always imagined.
I see a Jesus with a carefree smile
And eyes that say "I love you".
I see a Jesus
With a ready-to-go look
A look that doesn't suggest tiredness,
A look that doesn't suggest hate.
I love that old picture
On the wall and
I look to it when feeling low
And I just need a friend.
I look to it when I want to feel love.
Or when I feel the need to forgive.
I look to that picture on my wall
And know that the same picture
Is engraved in my soul.
And it's the same Jesus
I've always imagined.

The picture this poem is referring to is a picture of Jesus my mom got at the county fair when I was still in high school.  She loved that picture (we all did) and hung it up in every apartment we moved to.  That picture, unfortunately, is in San Antonio, home of the rest of our stuff that we need to save money for to bring back to Arizona.  Hopefully by the winter we can do that, when the rental trucks aren't too expensive.  I'd rather move that stuff when it's cooler out anyway.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and coming week. 

Love ya all!

Until next post,

Missy

Oh, I added a photo slideshow below.  A lot of the pictures are of my mom & dad. I miss them so!  Even with all we've been through, I still love them with all my heart and I miss the good times we had.  So these pictures show the good times.  :0)

Here We Go Again

Howdy, my friends!

Hope you all have been happy and well this past week.  My husband and I have been trying very hard to get a sense of "normalcy" back into our lives. We haven't had much luck.  We thought we had the nausea/vomiting problem licked, but it returned with a vengeance  this morning.  He was supposed to get a CT scan of his abdomen this morning, but he kept vomiting that I saw NO WAY he could keep the oral contrast down.  So we called and rescheduled it for tomorrow at 9am.  Check in at 8am.  I hope and pray that tomorrow will be a better day.  There's always hope!

As soon as he has the CT scan, the surgeon will call us and let us know what it said and what the "game plan" is from here.  Will he keep the abdominal drain for two weeks or will he get rid of it in one week....that is the million dollar question.  I don't want to remove it too soon, especially since it still is getting a little drainage out of it.  Only about 20cc/day, but if that drain were gone, it would build up inside him and block the intestines again.  We definitely don't want that!!!

Frankie went to the oncologist on Monday and he said that as soon as the CT scan is done, he will look it up and see where we should proceed with the Gleevec.  He already has told us that he will start Frankie out at 400mg/day for awhile then increase it to his usual dosage of 400mg twice a day.  We just don't want to take a chance that the tumor will return if he is off the Gleevec.  He also had labs drawn to see if he is anemic still. The doc said that if he was, he could get an outpatient transfusion.

That pretty much is all that's going on so far.  I still am just absolutely worn down from this past month of going back and forth to the hospital in this drastic heat.  Yesterday I slept from 5pm to 7am the following day! I couldn't believe it!!  My husband was right beside me, doing the same thing! We both are just so worn down....come on, B vitamins, kick in soon and give us some energy!!!!  LOL!!

As you can see, I did a little redecorating of the blog.  I hope you like it and it's easier to read.  I signed up for Google AdSense (which is where you can earn money by the ads on your blog) and was rejected.  First thing, they were looking at a totally different blog that wasn't even mine.  Then, they said that it was too hard to read and I had broken links.  So untrue!  I always check my links and they lead right where they should.  If you should find a broken link that I missed, please let me know.  But I was pretty bummed out.  I work hard on this blog and when they rejected me, it was like an arrow to the heart.  I can resubmit it, but I don't have the link to do that so I wrote Google for the link.  Wish me luck!!

Thank you all for being such a good friend to me. I cherish each and every one of you!!!

God bless you!
Until next post,
Missy

So Far, So Good!

Happy Sunday, everyone!

Hope it's been a good one for you.  As the post title says, so far, so good with my hubby!  We've found a solution that has worked the past few mornings for his nausea in the mornings. You'll never believe this, but it's chicken broth with saltine crackers!  And he has his cereal and milk for lunch.  Isn't that a scream?  He did vomit a little last night, but nothing like he used to. So that means that his stomach is NOT retaining its contents and the intestines are finally doing their job.  Thank the Heavens above!!  All those LONG days in the hospital are finally paying off.  That and the Jackson-Pratt drain he has connected has made a big improvement, since the hematoma inside the intestine has a someplace to drain instead of inside his stomach and creating another bowel obstruction, because the fluid can't go past the hematoma.  I sure do hope that sucker is getting smaller by now.  We'll know more when he has the CT scan on Wednesday.

Frankie has been so incredibly tired and sleepy lately. He hasn't even fought me for the computer or to drive the car!  He says he will drive again when his drain is out.  He hates going out in public with that thing hanging down and I don't blame him. I wouldn't want to go out with a bulb containing bodily fluid dangling down either!!!  I think he is so tired because he didn't sleep very well in the hospital and now is "pay-back time" AND because he is anemic.  I brought that up with his primary care doctor and he said he would leave that issue up to his oncologist, which we see on Monday.  Doctors! They are so darned specialized now they have you going here and there for different things.  So I will bring it up with the oncologist, then, on Monday.  We've started him (and me) out on Super Complex vitamin B and sublingual vitamin B supplements to build immunity and energy.  It's too soon to tell, but I think I'm starting to feel a tiny bit energetic.  Not too much, yet, though.....I don't feel like climbing up to the roof of the house or anything..geez, doesn't that make a hysterical image in your mind???  Hehehe!

I've been hanging in there.  Now that things are starting to level out for Frankie, it's all starting to hit me now.  All the long days in the hospital with him, doing errands, lugging my walker in and out of the trunk and all the long nights without Frankie and all the worry.....it's all catching up with me and putting me into quite a flare.  My back has been just horrible.  And to make matters worse, I can't use my TENS too much on it because my sweat mixes with the conductive gel I use and has created an itchy rash on my whole backside!  I've been just clawing at my self and I can't help it, it itches so bad!  So I've been using this expensive cream my dear sister gave me and that helps the itch and brings it down to a dull roar.  So how I'm working the TENS is by placing the electrodes high up on my back where there is NO rash and it's been working OK.

My legs have been pretty bad, too.  They feel like Jell-o when I stand and are weak and painful with cramps.  I've upped my Magnesium supplement with some relief.  I also use my "Myoflex" cream on it and that really helps.  But with all the driving I've been doing, it's no wonder my right leg (the one I work the accelerator with) is more sore than the left.  Stop lights are the killers for me, especially those that seem to be painted red.  My leg will cramp up if the light is too long, so I have to rub out the cramp with my hand until the light turns green.  I tell ya, it sucks to be me sometimes!!!

I don't know if I mentioned this previously-and if I have-please forgive me! We'll blame it on "fibro fog."  I signed up for the August 24th seminar for the lap-band procedure.  My hubby is far along in his recovery that we can move ahead and I am sooooo ready!  I'm so tired of laying on my back all the time.  I'm hoping that just the fact of losing a lot of weight will help my back so much it won't need surgery!  Wouldn't that be nice?  I really don't want surgery on my back, but I'll do it if I must just to get back to work and my life again.  After the seminar, I'll make an appointment with the bariatric surgeon and go from there.  Please pray my insurance will cover this.  I hope, I hope, I hope!!!!

Well, that's the news from our neck of the woods. Hope your neck of the woods is doing OK, too.  Thank you for everything...for your thoughts, prayers, well wishes, comments.....your friendship and reading my blog!!  I appreciate it ALL!!

God bless ya,
Until next post,
Missy

Surgeon's Appointment

Howdy, everyone!

This is just a quick post to let you know how things went at the appointment with Frankie's surgeon today.  He examined Frankie's abdomen and is aware of all the problems Frankie is having with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  His suggestions were to get some Gatorade or anything with electrolytes in it and drink it on down!  And he was keeping the drain in, much to Frankie's disappointment.  The doc said maybe for another two weeks.  He wants Frankie to have a CT scan next week and he'll go from there.  He reported to us that Frankie's bowels were just "a huge mess" of scar tissue & adhesions. That is why he is having so many complications.  And the drain is actually the reason why Frankie is OUT of the hospital.  It helps to keep the bowel open by draining that hematoma that is inside there.

The visiting nurse, Tim, will come by tomorrow and hopefully set me up with some supplies for the drain.  Flushes, dressings, that sort of thing. I feel in my element and my nursing skills are coming back and becoming sharper.  I miss my job so badly I could scream!!  When my husband was in the hospital, I'd see the nurses work and it took me back to when I could do that.  Maybe I still can one day.

I signed up for the lap band seminar on August 24th.  After that, I'll make an appointment with a bariatric surgeon and proceed ahead.  Please pray that my insurance will pay for it as that is the only way I can do it.  It definitely is of medical necessity.  I read some of their success stories and this one lady lost 150 pounds over nine months. That would be FANTASTIC if I could do that!!  I could return to work, hopefully.  So wish me luck!!

Alrighty, that is all my news. Hope things are going well in your neck of the woods.  :0)

God bless you all!
Missy

Like Clockwork

Howdy-ho, everyone!

My poor husband!  Every morning, like clockwork, he wakes up nauseated and vomits.  Sometimes a lot, other times not so much. But it happens only in the morning and like clockwork. I've joked with him and told him maybe he is pregnant.  LOL!  I can't figure it out, though. It's not like he has a seven course meal before bed!  Tonight I'll try giving him one of his nausea pills and a Prilosec and see what that does for the morning time vomit episodes.  Other than the above, he is doing really well.  He eats and drinks regular food now, no more pureed stuff of the hospital.  He's been playing on the computer and watching TV. Last night he even smashed soda cans for the recycle...but, I told him to NOT do the whole bag quite yet or he might get sick. It's really hot out in the garage and that's where the "smasher" is, so I told him to take it easy. And he actually listened to me! Wow! :0)

Yesterday the home health nurse, Tim, came to do the initial visit. He's a really nice guy, very funny.  He was ordered to come over for wound care (the abdominal drain and dressings), but today we see the surgeon and he probably will remove the drain.  I hated to see Tim go through the mountains of paperwork (whoever works in Medicare must get paid by the word...those documents Tim filled out were endless!!) if he was going to get rid of the drain today, but orders are orders.  Tim said that if the drain was removed, great. He would stop by on Friday to make sure we were OK and then he would come some time next week.  That sounded like a good plan.  Tim said that everything looked great. The abdominal drain is only draining about 20cc's of bloody fluid a day and the dressing is still intact. No signs of infection.  Tim couldn't believe Frankie had been through so much....and he really is a pretty healthy guy. Not like me, who has a whole compilation of medical problems!  Before the surgery, he only had the GIST and seasonal allergies.  That's it.  You need a whole notebook to record my issues!!!

On Monday we go to the oncologist to discuss what we do next. Go back on the Gleevec? Full dose or half dose? Or NO dose?  I feel really uncomfortable with him going off it completely. It's kind of like a security blanket that the tumor they couldn't get seven years ago will stay dead if he continues the Gleevec.  But it WOULD be nice if he didn't have to take it, his legs wouldn't hurt so badly and he wouldn't need the narcotics, probably. He hasn't taken it since before the surgery and his legs are great. No more pain there - it's all in the abdomen from the surgery.  And even that is lessening now.  BUT, when we lived in Tucson and saw a GIST specialist from the U of A, he said that when he took a patient off Gleevec, the tumor not only returned, but returned with a vengeance! So we definitely don't need that!  So it will be interesting on Monday to see what the oncologist has to say about this.

Well, I should start getting ready to take my hubby to the surgeon. I'm doing OK, not the greatest, but OK.  My right knee is giving me problems now and the fibro is in its element inside my body, with all the drama of my life!  It literally feeds off of stress and little sleep.  Even though NOW is OK, I'm paying for the past month of no sleep and worry over my husband.  Hopefully, I'm at the end of the flare-up.  God, I really hope!!!
I'm glad the appointment is early, so we get get out and get back before the bad heat starts rolling in.  We've had "excessive" heat warnings all week and daily temps of 105-110's.  The sun is like a hot little orb in the sky, beaming down on all of us, sharing its warmth and misery!! LOL!

Hope you all have a great day and weekend.  Another week has rolled around....where does the time go?

God bless you all!!
Until next post,
Missy