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Friday, September 3, 2010

Mother's Prayers Answered

Last year I almost didn't make my 60th b-day. I had 3 major asthma attacks in July 2009. I made 3 visits to my lung. dr. trying to get the 3rd attack under control. I ended up in heart floor for 2 1/2 since my BP went sky high. I slept most of Sept. I couldn't talk on the phone to my kids till Oct.
Heidi later called us ask if she could come out & see us for T-giving. This was a good carrot to dangle in front of me to fight back so I could see them. S/how all 4 of my kids came,from N.C, Denton & Arlington Tx. Heidi has 3 kids,so 5 plane tickets,Jan works full time, & Allen had to schedule time from his project that had d/lines. Forest never been able to get off enough time from the Dallas library since there was no one to take his place for 5 days. Laura works @ Block Buster,low paying job. It's a 10 hour drive from DFW to get here.We all hadn't been together for T-giving since 1997.
What concerned me most as a mother if I died what would happened tom my youngest DD.All of my other 3 kids had done well for themselves. L. never st goals in H'S, It was like pulling teeth to keep her motivated. I know ADD,depression & puberty had made things rough for her. But my son had ADD & dyslexia,we had learned to set goals etc w/him to stay on track. She didn't take the ACT's @ all.she graduated w/ a good B+.(In our family U lose privileges ex phone,T.V.game systems,dances etc. if UR grades drop down. U only get them back when the grades go back up in the next report card)
I started praying for her 2 years ago to get some direction in her life. I asked Heavenly Father to watch over & let her know she was loved by us &by HIM. She was just drifting thru life,path of least resistance. If I was to die ,who was going to watch over her. What happened if she losses her job w/ no job skills or ed?
She not a bad kid,not into drugs or had kids out of marriage etc.Just working a boring job & hanging out w/ kids that use her it seems like.She ha taken AP art & had art from grade school on she excelled in.she's a really good w/ little kids.Had been b/sitiing @ a young age. had worked in our church nursery since she was 12 . Even was a Nursery leader when out of HS The kids adored her & clung to her when she came Sun's. she said she didn't have the patience to teach kids today. Not taking the ACT stopped her from enrolling in 1 teacher'school.
In Jan.she posted she wanted to set some new goals for the New Year.
She needs to take a driving test w/ a friends car to get her Driver's licence
Early August she posted on Facebook she was going to enroll for Criminal Justice. A big move for her. she's very private person w/ a big personal place, she had been trying to get into animal rescue work thru an animal shelter or Humane Society. Lack of a car has made this goal impossible to obtain.
She wants to get involved in enforcing the laws for animal cruelty. I encouraged to start @ the community college instead of the expensive program @ Phoenix Univ. program. so she applied @ TCC in 1st of Aug.They didn't send her a letter telling she had been accepted to late Aug. she went to register. A very RUDE lady told her she hadn't taken the placement test. It was TCC fault they sent notice out so late she missed the last test. No school till spring,that sucks for a kid who's trying to put her life together. She turn 25 yrs old this Oct & wanted to get started w/ online classes this fall.
This was a big relief to me to know God has been watching over & she started in the right direction to be able to know where to go in life.
i was really touched when she went out her way to get her Dad a get well card. He ended up in ER room w/ chest pains. I'm the one w/ the problems,Allen is my caregiver.They scheduled him for an emergency angioplasty the next am. They had kept him in ER all day waiting for a room. I was unable to be w/him because of my fatigue from the heat.
It was a roller coast ride for me,since I'm now dependent on him.
Of all 4 kids she sent him a get well card. she doesn't have a car so it meant she had to get s/one to take her get a card & get some stamps.Knowing this really touched my heart on the extra effort it took for it to get to him.

Luckily the heart is fine,no blockages. they sent him to the GI for an end scope.
GERD can cause chest pain.They changed his reflux med. The scope showed he's a genetic d/order which causes rings in the esophagus. This cause hisesophagus to narrow which has caused food to get stuck. They give him an inhaler to relax the muscles

WON $150 GIFT CARDS!!

I couldn't believe the e-mail I got a few weeks ago. I was told I had won a drawing for posting the most replies in the Frugal Living community on blog frog.They had started a new community there.Being older & having managed to be a SAHM on 1 income ,I joined in. I just thought maybe if I went back each day, I get a grab @ 1 of the $ 25 CG.I had older women in Utah when younger who had raised families in the Depression.Also I'm a member of the L.D.S.Church(Mormon) which teaches it;s members to be self sufficient. I have learned to make bread,all kinds of home baked goods from scratch,cook meals from scratch,can both fruits & vegetables,make my own low sugar jam,sew my clothes, curtains etc.,plant a garden, decorate a home,ceramics ,candle making,fruit leather,cook diabetic & gluten free baked goods, cook a lot of ethic foods ex. Indian & Oriental types, card making & scrap booking. I'm very visual so if I can see it I can do it. I don't crotchet or knit since I can't pull the directions off the paper. I don't decorate fancy cakes or make h/made candy
I was just adding comments to the posts I read. I have found blogfrog when I went to Modern Molly Mormon blog which I hadn't been on for awhile.
I got to pick my merchants. I picked out $50from Bargain Outlet Catalog,$50,Old Navy, $20,Colonial Candle,$30 Dick Bick.
I had to send an e-mail to the person who sent it to ask if this was real. I didn't want to get my hopes up. i had to wait a w-end for a reply. It was 1 of those early am's where I'm up 1/2 asleep zoning in on the computer when I see my e-mail. Yes it was real.WOW!!!! A shot in the arm. We just had 3 weeks of of 100F in August. My back wasn't healing as fast as I wanted it to. I was spending time crashing out in my recliner etc trying to deal w/ the heat. There has been no extra money in our budget. We still deal w/big credit debt from 7 yrs ago job loss,medical bills etc. Plus we're earning $20,000 less in El Paso as a programmer.any gift money etc goes towards supplies for my GI card route.
I had so much fun going thru the sites looking @stuff. Being as frugal as I'm e/thing is on sale or clearance to get more bang out of my BUCK!
I'm writing a entry on ease of using their online sites & the quality of the products later

Sunday, August 29, 2010

HOT,HOT & MORE HOT

August is supposed to be a monsoon month. It did cool off a bit w/ some rain in July. August added to our total of 28 100F days. Norm is 14,usually in June our hottest month.That doesn't count the days we had 98 &99F days.
The heat is just draining me.I don't think my body regulate itself w/ the heat well anymore. I had been getting up early to cool supper in the early am. The last 1 1/2 weeks I have been so wiped out i have been crashing out late in the am. If the kitchen is hot @ 6& 7 am I'm sweating It's going to be a cooker of a day.
I have been spending time in the recliner usually w/ a heat back on my back trying to stretch out my back from being in bed; w/the portable a/c unit & fan blowing on me. when it gets to hot @ 4 pm I have to go into my bdrm & park myself in my w/chair in front of my window unit to breathe the cool air. I have do stay there to avoid an asthma attack. I have ice cold water & jar of snacks in there. I wait for Allen to come home to warm up supper in m/wave or pull a salad out. The kitchen heats up too hot for me to exert myself in it.
I even been going to bed @8:30 pm most of the last 2 weeks.My body just to wiped out w/ the heat to sit up anymore. I wake up w/ Charley horse s/times,since the heat just washes out my minerals & potassium. the heat also makes me retain fluid more. I have to take a water pill this summer. I have to be real careful to stay hydrated. I now keep a frozen bottle of juice water etc. by my recliner to melt so I can fluids down while I'm resting. I've been keeping boiled eggs, nuts & cheese around to eat as quick meals since meat & heat don't mix w/ me. i drank a lot of frozen protein shakes during the heat of the day.
Sept. is predicated to be above norm in temps. & low in rain!!!Oct. can't come to soon for me!!I want to work in my room!!! My frog materials for a set of GI cards is sitting there. My big s/bk project is still on the floor in it's box. Toby my g/son didn't get his present & card. It's just to hot to work in there.
Fri' I had an asthma attack 4-4:30 pm. Our portable a/c unit bearings became noisy. Had to turn it off Fri. a/noon. I put the dogs out & grabbed the head set for the phone. Extertion in the heat triggered it. On top of it I had to get out the door to go to my D.C appt since my lower back was jammed. I was so dizzy I almost blacked out trying to get up out my w/c to go out the front door. Luckly my lung dr. had given me some Predistone, I had on my dresser. Fri. nite my feet were getting ice cold, the coldness started moving up into my calves of my legs. I was afraid an adrenal attack was started. So @ midnite I took 3 tabs/ of it. It can cause insommia. I wa trying to ride out the nite w/ o it. An hour later my feet started warming up.
Allen charged my scooter for me Sat am. He patiently took it apart & put it back 2 times in the car so I could go to the library. I spent 4 hours in the central a/c to get cool air into my lungs.
I was able to work on my Spanish voc. words since my room has been too hot to work on them. I read a Nat'l Geo. mag & quick skim of a craft mag. + I talked to 2 women who sat @ my table. I had the new chicken apple salad @ Wendys since Allen was out of ideas for supper. BEd early &*pm.

Bad fall

It's been almost 2 mo's since I posted here. 6 weeks since I have fallen. I have to take a laxative each week since my colon is so long. s/times the upper colon isn't emptying out so I have to take it 2 days in a row. My other choice is to get stuck w/ a colostomy bag. My skin probably wouldn't like the glue on the bag!! I'm too big a risk for the surgery.
I had been asleep in my recliner w/ a hot pack to my back. I live w/ muscle spasms which can kink my colon down to a total stop. so hot packs & the heat are no fun. My recliner is next to a portable a/c unit in the liv. rm. I woke up hot, needed my inhaler. I was waiting on more inhalers to come,so I had to go into the bdrm to get it. I wa probably also dehydrated& potassium was washed out from the laxative.
My long 0-2 line was on,a big coil of it had gotten wadded up by the door. I was really dazzled when I got up. I didn't realize my foot had gotten caught in the hose. The next thing I knew I was flat on the floor,face 1st. I can no longer get off the floor. I have muscle loss from my post-polio. I was afraid if I tried to pull myself up by my arms I tear my shoulders again. What will happen if I fell again trying to get up? Pain was exploding thru my back & my right knee. I would later realize I hit the left collarbone hard on the foot board of the bed & have a big gash on it.
The phone was in the living room. I had to scoot into the liv. rm from my bdrm on my butt. I had to call Allen to come home & get me off the floor. I had to wait 30 mins. on a hard lino floor to wait for him. I leaned against the recliner while waiting. the dogs came over 1 by 1 to lick my face & comfort me. I think Fluffy after several times of coming over I grabbed her & hugged here & cried because of her concern for me. They helped me stayed distracted from the pain shooting thru me.
Getting me off the floor w/o causing more injury is a feat in itself. I wear full bracing on my left arm & hand,a custom long leg brace on my right leg & a knee sleeve on my left knee. My right long arm brace was off.My joints hyper extend along w/ my post-polio I need them for support. My Dr later said my bracing probably broke my fall. I just know my body took a big jolt when it hit the floor.
Thank goodness Allen had some pain med from a dental appt. I don't usually take pain meds thou I live w/a lot of pain. Tynol wasn't going to cut this pain!!! I ice packed my upper back & my right knee. Allen put me in bed. I would take pain med's for the next day which is unusual for me.
I would later have a 2 inch bruise below my gash( which had 2 holes in it. I also had a big bone bruise which was very sore for awhile. @ days later my whole r. knee had a big dark bruise. After my 1st back adjustment the area around my neck & collarbone swelled up & still has faint bruise.
It's taken longer than I hoped for recovery. the upper back has finally stopped going into muscle spasms & is staying in place better. My lower back is still jamming up on me. My right hip in 2 places is locking up still. the cartilage just tightens up so tight. I'm having to keep a tepid hot pack on 2 places during the nite .then I have to do stretches w/ the legs to stretch out my muscles there.
I'm still going to the D.C 1 a week. I can't empty out my colon if my back is out. the nerve pitch it off.
I still can't stamp my new stamps given to me because the pressure is too much pain my back. I couldn't even color w/ my Prisms for 3 weeks.I had stacks of solored images I couldn't blend w/ my stubbs until the last week Just trying to color w/them put to much pressure on the elbow & pain radiating into my back. I spent 2 days w/ice packs @ 1st in bed or my recliner. Then it's been hot packs in the heat !! to deal w/ the muscle spasms.
Thank goodness for headsets for the phone. 3 weeks into my injury I spent s/time w/ my son giving out family history info. More on this later
Now I leave my front door unlocked on the day i take my laxative. I let my f/ful n/bors Phil & Marie it's Poop Day. That way I have a backup if I have a problem.

Fluffy LAP DOG of the MONTH

I had a bad fall in July. My dogs are best,loyal buddies.Fluffy senses when s/thing is wrong w/ me.
When I fell,I couldn't get myself off the floor. I had to scoot into my liv. rm from my bdrm to get to the phone to call Allen. I leaned against my recliner to wait for Allen. @least a 30 min wait on a hard lino. floor .Pain was exploding thru me. Each one of my 3 dogs took turns coming over to lick my face to show concern. I only cried when Fluffy had come over several times. She has the most expressive brown eyes when she's concerned.
Needless to say I spent a lot of time in my recliner. I couldn't press down on anything since it made my back & right arm hurt.
Fluffy, a terrier-poodle mix,saw the recliner going up for me to get into it,would come & stand by. She would then jump up in my lap after I got into a reclining position. She would climb up into my chest & put her head down on me. It was just a comfort to pet her.It helped to pass the time. She would then turn around & lay down between my legs. S/times she go down by my feet & go to sleep. If I slept too long she would climb back up into my lap & lick my face or put her paws on my chest to say"Are U okay?"
If I stay too long in my bed,my dogs are scratching @ my door until I get up to open the door.They all run in "Mommy are U okay,getting up? We miss U!!"
Fluffy has been good compaionship during this time. Being housebound sucks as it is but being down w/ a back injury & the heat has even been harder.
George my Italian Greyhound mix has his own mind. S/times he come & lay down w/ me. Fluffy lays over my lap preventing George from having room to jump up. When he did he have to perch up on my shoulder all folded up like a fold up s/case. He makes a certain sound when he's content being petted up there. when he ready he comes & lays down on a spot on my left side of my recliner. This is his permanent parking space reserved for him. It's too small for Fluffy to fit into. then he leaves if he feels he's too squashed w/ Fluffy up there.
Taco,my chichihua pup is my face washer when I hold him in my lap. He;s too active to be a lap dog. He luvs to play tug of war & pull of my socks. George & him s/times wrestle over who should have the sock. Both socks have to be pulled off!! The job not done until he licks my toes. It's so funny both George when younger have to shake the sock like they're breaking it's neck.

our puppy vistor

our puppy vistor