33tekfan’s Weblog

A co-worker had us laughing with a story about her 4 year old asking was E.D. is. You know…from the Viagra commercials? At the time, I had wondered why my kids had never asked.

It finally happened. And I was ready.

The Captain, while watching tv yesterday: “Mom, what is an erection?”

Me: “Postman! Come in here, the Captain has a question for you!”

I am nothing if not prepared.

Sex is God’s joke on human beings. ~Bette Davis

Well, as I think I mentioned in my last brief post, the Postman’s father is home. Too much happened to try to recap it all here but here are some high (or low) lights:

- Spent 4 days in ICU
- Spent 6 days in Respiratory SCU
- Spent 2 days in a regular room on the respiratory floor
- Doctors don’t know what was wrong. They gave him a broad spectrum antibiotic that seemed to be working. He felt better and the congestion in his lungs was breaking up.
- Right before they moved him to the regular room they said although he FELT better, he wasn’t GETTING better. Um, what? Based on CT scan comparisons and bronchoscopy comparisons, there was no actual change in his lungs.
- 2 days later they sent him home - not knowing what was causing the breathing difficulty (beyond his already known COPD), and after stating he wasn’t getting better.

So that’s kind of where we are. He’s home, and although he feels better, he has to follow up with a respiratory specialist closer to home to try and track this and at least keep him status quo if not improved.

On a happier note, the Diva competed in a Dressage competition today and placed 2nd in one category and 3rd in the other category she was in. This was the first time she competed in Dressage, so it was quite an accomplishment!

I am looking forward to a quieter week - no driving 90 miles to the hospital. I can catch up on my work, my housework, and time with the Postman and the kids.

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

The essential joy of being with horses is that it brings us in contact with the rare elements of grace, beauty, spirit, and fire. ~Sharon Ralls Lemon

It’s been a long couple of weeks.

P-Man’s dad just came home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. Everyone is exhausted, but relieved he is home.

More on everything later this weekend, hopefully!

There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort. ~Jane Austen

Scream, are we having fun yet?*

I am exhausted. Worked in the office and drove home in bad weather.

No real update on P-Man’s father. They started a broad spectrum antibiotic yesterday and he seems to be doing better today so that is really good news. They may move his care down a level in the next 24 hours. He would be out of ICU, in a private room, with his own dedicated nurse still. One thing that bothers me is that they still don’t know what they are treating. The antibiotic seems like it might be working - but working on WHAT? How do they know they treated it completely? How do they know for sure it’s gone? How do they know he won’t relapse? I hate the unknown. As thankful as I am that he’s feeling better, I am still asking for answers.

This has all just really wiped me out. I had a mini meltdown last night, complete with tears, mostly because I am tired. I am trying so hard to keep everything flowing smoothly - keeping our house running as normally as possible, doing my part to take care of P-Man’s mom, and keeping things on an even keel for him.

I am counting down the minutes to 9:00 so I can tuck the kids in and then head to bed myself!

Sleeping is no mean art: for its sake one must stay awake all day. ~Friedrich Nietzsche

*Thanks, Nickelback!

How is it that the Postman’s mother - and even worse, my mother! - are hipper than I am?

My daughter and I watch Dancing With the Stars. I know it’s a bit on the cheesy side, so I refer to it as one of my guilty pleasures. On the other hand, it is nice to be interested in the same show as my daughter. I can only take so much of Hannah Montana before my brain seizes up. So this dancing show we watch together. My mother, and P’s mom watch it also.

Yesterday, during our 90 mile (one way) car ride, P’s mom and I were talking about the show as the new season started last night. She was the first to tell me that Julianne, an adorable dancer on the show (and my favorite!), has released a song with a whole album to follow soon. How did I not know this? I proclaim to be a huge music lover, yet this little tidbit escaped me.

To make matters worse…I spoke with my mother last night and she gave me the same information. Um, what? My mother doesn’t even listen to music all that much. How on earth did she know this before I did? I am such a loser.

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance. ~Japanese Proverb

I missed St. Paddy’s Day. It really blew right by and I didn’t even realize it until last night when my son told me the Leprechauns were due to visit. Yeah…a few years back, I had the BRILLIANT idea to have the Leprechauns bring them some token trinkets. We’re not even Irish, so I don’t know what the hell I was thinking and now I have to come up with some trinkets at 9:00PM. Luckily I had a few things stashed away for the Easter Baskets, so I used those.

The reason I am so scatter brained is because the Postman’s father is in the hospital again. After being home for roughly 48 hours, we went screaming back on Sunday morning because his oxygen had dropped so low. The decision was made to transfer him to a much bigger (and thus better?) medical facility about 90 miles from here. He went Sunday night by ambulance (sirens and everything!). Each of us kids is now taking a day and driving his mom to that facility. My day was yesterday, so in all the hubbub I just forgot about the green holiday.

It’s very frustrating, this medical situation. So far they can tell us what is NOT wrong. 90% chance it is not cancer. It is not pneumonia. It is not a blood clot. Dude can’t breathe though. Literally…sitting up to eat dropped his oxygen so much and he got so exhausted from just the effort of bringing the food to his mouth and chewing that they took away the solids and started making him milkshakes with protein powder in them for extra calories. Was that a run on sentence right there? He is in ICU, so he is obviously being monitored very well. That is reassuring for the Postman’s mom…and the rest of us, too.

Hopefully we’ll get some more news soon.

Caring is the essence of nursing. ~Jean Watson

At dinner tonight, the Postman noticed the Diva’s bedroom light was on. We are trying to instill a “turn off all things unnecessary” rule in our house but it is definitely an uphill battle for us. The Diva will head to her bathroom from the living room…and turn on the kitchen light as she passes through…then the hallway light…then her bedroom light…and finally the actual bathroom light. Yes, she will turn on all those lights just to pass through those areas.

So when he noticed the light on, he asked her to get up and go turn it off. I asked if her brother’s light was also on (since she was already up), and at that my son’s friend, Mas, says “No, I turned it off when we left his room. At our house, we turn off all the lights when we leave a room.”

Me: “How on earth did your mom and step-dad accomplish that?”

Mas: “Hmmm…well, they beat us.”

Postman: “Sweet. We can do that.”

I expect our electric bill will be SIGNIFICANTLY lower next month.

Who is more foolish, the child afraid of the dark or the man afraid of the light? ~Maurice Freehill

The Diva has been at the barn since 8:30 this morning, the Postman worked, and the Captain has a friend over.

Do you all know what this means? Barring the occasional chore (like switching the laundry over, or stirring the meatball sauce), I have been doing nothing but surfing blogs this afternoon. ALL afternoon.

And I found some cool stuff! Like that nifty Tax Relief Swap button over there at the top right of the page. I think I linked there from here but I am not sure. Like I said, ALL afternoon. Many links. Many blogs.

Anyway, give it a click! It seems like a lot of fun. More than the anticipation of receiving something in the mail, I LOVE the idea of coming up with a little care package to send off!

Happy Saturday!

Weekends don’t count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless. ~Bill Watterson

Yeah. So.

I got my hair cut. Like 3 inches or so…not a huge difference. But still. This morning my hair was below my shoulders, and now it is swinging just above my shoulders. Not drastic, but noticeable, dammit!

Unless you live in my house.

I bet if dinner didn’t make it on the table they’d notice THAT.

Or if laundry didn’t get done for 3 or 4 days - THAT would be noticed.

Or if I didn’t have cash in my wallet. THAT would definitely be noticed.

Jackasses. All of ‘em.

How can I control my life when I can’t control my hair? ~Author Unknown

So the Diva cam home from school early yesterday with a headache and a tummy ache. She actually gets quite a few headaches for a 12 year old and we’re working on figuring out why.

Our school has a rule prohibiting drugs of any kind. That includes Ty*lenol and Ibuprofen. If a child needs Ty*lenol or Ibuprofen or even their inhaler, they must call their parents/guardian to come administer the stuff. I found out there’s a way around this, which is nice for children with chronic conditions or those that must take medication during the day (Rit*alin, for example). Their parent/guardian fills out paperwork describing the specifics of the medication, purpose, dose, etc. The school nurse then faxes this info to the child’s doctor and IF THE DOCTOR SAYS IT’S OK, the nurse keeps the medication in her office and the child goes to her to have their medication administered. So, if I want my daughter to have an Ibuprofen, without me delivering it to her, that’s the route I have to take.

Seems like a bit much for an Ad*vil, no?

Usually the Diva calls me and I dutifully deliver the Ibuprofen to her. She knows about trying to self soothe before leaping for the drugs…hydrate, rest (if possible), quiet (if possible). At school it can be hard to accomplish this so more often than not, I will bring her an ibuprofen.

As I may have mentioned, I work from home for a hospital that’s about 2 hours away. I used to drive there two to three times per month, but that has substantially decreased lately. Because I could not bring her medication if she needed it on those days, I gave her a tiny pill bottle to put in her book bag with TWO otc strength ibuprofen in it, just in case she needed it. When I did this, I knew I was making a mistake. No, not that I was giving it to her…but that the pill bottle I chose to use was a little Ty*lenol bottle. With ibuprofen in it. In my defense, I figured it was better than an apothecary style medicine bottle with NO label on it. Doesn’t matter now…turns out the Diva would have gotten in trouble either way.

When she called me to tell me she didn’t feel well, she was near tears. It turns out, for whatever reason, instead of calling me yesterday she decided to take one of the ibuprofen that she had in her bag. When she didn’t feel better after an hour, she decided she wanted to come home. She went to the office to call me and they instructed her that she needed to see the nurse before she could call home. While with the nurse, it came up that the Diva had already taken an ibuprofen. It seems that having contraband ibuprofen is on the same level as having a dime bag. The nurse went up one side of my daughter and down the other, and there was even mention of the fact that my daughter could be suspended for this infraction.

WTF???

I haven’t yet decided how I’m going to handle this. I understand rules are rules. But seriously, does anyone else think the nurse went just a little too far with this? I really would appreciate feedback on this one folks, because I am stuck somewhere between understanding policy and indignation at how my child was treated.

I don’t know. I never smoked AstroTurf. ~Tug McGraw, when asked if he preferred grass or artificial turf, 1974