It's been a busy week!

      This has been one very busy week. Between medical tests, Dr. visits, same-day surgery, and attending sonogram of newest grandbaby, it's been just a total whirlwind. The test and Dr. visits were for me, I still have another appointment tomorrow to go over the results of the test.


    My Hubs had the surgery this morning, to try and repair damage from carpal tunnel in his right wrist. After the procedure, the doctor came and spoke to me, he told he there was a lot to clean up, and he was able to get a squished nerve back in it's rightful place. Hubs should see a dramatic improvement. That was a relief.


    And yesterday I was able to go see my newest grandbaby move around, and put this hand in his mouth. He is gonna be soooo cute!

    I did get some knitting done while waiting for Hubs, in the waiting room. I was surprised that the whole thing didn't take very long! We got there at 6:30, and were outta there by 9:30. Hubs had told me that the doctor had told him the procedure would only take about 20 minutes. That seems a but rushed to me, but I guess this guy has done a few of these procedures.

A curious development

   As some of you may know, I have Pulmonary Sarcoidosis, and Asthma. I take a few prescription drugs to help me breathe. Note: I just added the Asthma, as an afterthought, since I'm now out of the Asthma closet.... Anyway, every single one of my medications lists "headache" as a possible side effect.


    So I have headaches. Every single day. I take three Ibuprofen when I get up in the morning, and three more when the evening headache strikes. I like to wait for that one, just to see what time it comes. It usually happens between 5:30 and 8 pm.


    Well, twice in the last week, I haven't gotten my evening headache! Last Wednesday, after a long day of helping mom move, I got home, took a shower then made dinner. I realized as I went to bed that my regularly scheduled headache hadn't yet shown up. During the night as I was on my way to the bathroom, I noticed it had arrived with a vengeance.  But I was too tired to go to the kitchen and take anything. It was still there when I got up.


    Last night, at about 10 pm, I again realized that my evening headache hadn't shown up. This time, it didn't come during the night, but I did wake up with a whopper this morning. I took my morning Ibuprofen, but the headache wouldn't let go. I ended up going back to bed about 10 am for a nap. I feel better now, but I am wondering if this is a sign of things to come. I sincerely hope not. I'd rather have an evening headache then getting one in the night, or waking up with it in the morning.


    And next week I'll find out the results of the MRI they did on my brain. Yay, something to look forward to!


   P.S. Another day of no knitting. Not feeling so good today, I might go back to bed again....

Aftermath

    I slept like a rock last night, and I'm stiff and sore today. Mom's phone still isn't turned on. She lost some cable channels last night, but I think that's been fixed. She's really unhappy with the movers. There was a lot of stuff that they didn't move.


    I told her that they aren't going around picking up random stuff, it was all supposed to be in boxes. They even told her, if it's not boxed up, they aren't taking it. Oh well, at least she didn't have to have all her stuff out in the one day. She can take all the time she needs to get it all out.


   Today, I had an MRI of my brain. Of course, I'm worried. I have at least two headaches every day, and I'm used to it now, since every one of my medications lists headaches as a possible side effect. But when I saw the Neurologist last week, she wasn't happy about the headaches. She thought the steroid I take should take care of that. I figured it's too busy in my lungs.


    So there I am, laying on a table, and they slide this cage over my head after putting earphones on me. Because apparently it gets pretty loud inside the machine. I opted for the music in the headphones. Once this procedure started, I could hardly even hear the music! The noise was extremely loud, even with the headphones on.


    After about 40 minutes, and pulling me out twice; once to inject some dye into me, it was all over. I was very grateful that Hubs had come with me, and that I didn't have to drive home. I decided it was time to blog this evening when I got my daily evening-time headache. It comes anywhere between 5:30 and 9 pm. I usually wait for it to strike before I take the Ibuprofen. And it does strike suddenly.


    I even laid down this afternoon, and took a three hour nap! Today was the second day in a row, that I couldn't have my coffee. At least today, I got to have some after I got back from the MRI. I had to fast for four hours before the test. I decided last night that if I got up before 7 am, I could have one cup of coffee. But when I woke up, it was 7:05. SHIT. No coffee for me.


    You really don't want to see me without my coffee, especially on the second day!

not a terribly fun day

    My day started out at about 3 a.m., when Hubs' work pager went off. If you don't push the button to look at the message, it keep going off. Every. Few. Minutes. I figure it kept going off for over an hour. I shook him, and woke him up. Told him his pager was going off. Another hour or so went by before he actually woke up and looked at it. In his half awake state, he thought it was the alarm clock, and kept trying to turn it off.


    Needless to say, I couldn't get back to sleep until some point after that. Then my alarm went off for me to get up at 5:30. So I was very tired today. After hanging with the Cherub, I went home to have a cuppa coffee with Hubs, but he was still asleep. Huh. So I turned the coffee maker on, and just as it was finishing up cooking, his majesty gets up.


    Like I said, I was really tired, and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed. Not gonna happen today. I had an appointment with a Gastroenterologist (sp?) at 9:45, so no time for nappy. He will be performing one of the tests that I need to have done. Enuff said.


    I did get to take a nap later in the day, and slept for a couple of hours, I think. I now have less than an hour before I have to start my blood work fast. And tomorrow morning, I get to go back to the medical group building to have blood drawn. I will be taking a snack with me for afterwards.


    I'm still tired, and perhaps a bit cranky. It really does suck getting old. I'm hoping to get to bed kind of early tonight, and get some good sleep with pharmacological aid. It's gotta be better than last night....

last remnants / medical stuff

    I still have the last remnants of this cold, and I'm still taking the antibiotics. Yippee. I'm still coughing a bit, but the sore torso muscles are gone. Another yippee.


    I tried knitting this morning, and my finger is better, if still a little stiff. But there was no pain! This merits a third yippee.


    I have more doctor appointments coming up, with my primary as well as specialists. I decided to get a complete physical. I just felt we've been concentrating on my  pulmonary problems for so long, I want to check on everything else.


    I first saw the dermatologist, because of the dark(ish) stripe running up my thumbnail. Whatever you do, if you have something like that, DON'T google it!! I got the literal shit scared out of me by the horror stories. The prevalent word used was CANCER.... complete with stories about having to get the thumb amputated... and photos. The good news was that the stripes in the photos were very much darker than mine.


    My primary doctor  thought it was probably nothing, but thought it should be checked out by the dermatologist, who took a sample for testing. I should hear the results within a week.

    My beloved primary also wants me to have all these tests done. I probably will, but I won't be happy about it. In two weeks, it all begins. I will keep you updated if there's anything to report, I promise.


    And finally, here's the photo of my sweater! It looks like it's working again.

    This was taken a while ago. I haven't bothered to take a new one, but now I will! Perhaps I can post it tomorrow!

my visit to the Doctor

   After promising at the end of last year, I finally scheduled my visit to my Doctor. I got very lucky, as usually, it takes about two weeks to get an appointment. I called yesterday, and he actually had an opening today!


    It's a good thing I called when I did, because the night before I called, I started not feeling well. My usual danger signs, trouble breathing (well, more than usual), and a general heaviness in my chest. I also started coughing that evening too.


    And, as promised, I asked him about my cold hands. Just for you, Purl... He felt my wrists, and assured me that my circulation is normal. I am probably experiencing spasms in the veins in my wrists. He tells me it's possible, with my condition and some of the meds I take. PHEW. So it's not anything to worry about.


    He put me on an antibiotic for my upper resp. infection, and we scheduled blood work, and a complete physical for next month.


    As I didn't feel very well at all today, I didn't get any knitting done. After I got home from babysitting this morning, I made and drank my coffee. But I was so tired, I found myself falling asleep in my chair. Eventually I gave up and went in to my bed to lay down. I slept for a couple of hours, when I finally fell asleep.


    I actually did get to knit, after my Dr. visit, while I was waiting for scrips. That can take a while sometimes, so I broke out my sweater and knitted for a while. I didn't get much done, as the nice nurse came out with the scrips pretty quickly. It was the end of the day, after all. I'm sure all the ladies were getting anxious to get home.

A Busy Morning!

    This morning, my alarm went off before the ass-crack of dawn. 5:45 seems awfully early to me. But it's only two days a week, and I can handle it. I started the coffee pot for Hubs, whose alarm goes off at 6. This way I can have the coffee I.V. ready for him when he staggers out of the bedroom. He needs to get up on time, since I have to leave at 6:10.


    This morning was different than usual, since after dropping my charge and her mom off at their car, I had to head directly to the Medical Group building. I had a CAT Scan scheduled for 9 a.m. I wasn't sure if that was the test in the extremely tight, long tubs thing, so I took my meds with me, and downed a xanax about an hour before my appointment. I find that I'm getting a bit claustrophobic as I get older. The Xanax helps tremendously.


    So that procedure went well, it wasn't the tight space one. Whew. On my way home, I stopped at the Awesome Store, I needed to get some extra stuff to throw into the soups when I make them. They have cut up, dried veggies in conveniently sized packages. I usually get the potato chunks, to add to the barley soup.


    Anyway, I get there, and the young man who I saw at their Hudson Valley Market booth remembered me, and greeted me warmly. I went in, and the whole place is a mess. It turns out that they are gearing up to make their booth at the HVM much bigger, and they are going to be rearranging the Hyde Park store. The nice young man got my potatoes for me, and as I was checking out, the owner asked me if I was still looking for work.


    Of course I said yes! She told me they would be looking for people to help out at the HVM, and even in the Hyde Park store! As we talked she explained that they hadn't forgotten me, that her daughter kept reminding her about me! I was thrilled.


    She explained that they didn't want to hire me for the mall store, because it's so far; they prefer to hire people who live near each store, as they are more dependable, in bad weather and such circumstances. So she told me to come in next week, and ask about how things were going. I am totally psyched!


   I was home just after 10, made my coffee, and now I'm drinking it and watching TV. I can't wait to see what happens this afternoon!!

I think I'm finally done with the skull thing...

    Yesterday, while I was babysitting, I finished my second skull potholder. Then I was stuck with a napping toddler, and nothing to do! Anyway, here are photos of the finished potholder:

    Yup, I'm such a rebel, I made the two sides different. Just like the blue/purple one. Here is a photo of the two together!

    Unfortunately, this means I currently have nothing to work on. Perhaps it's time for a break. I will let you know, and keep you updated on the crafting front.


    And perhaps, if I feel up to it, I shall report on the medical tests scheduled for later on today. But right now, I'm starving, and cranky. No coffee this morning, and no food after 8 a.m. I watched Cherub this morning, so I wasn't even home until 8:30!