33tekfan’s Weblog

Remember yesterday when I said I was looking forward to a day with nothing planned?  That didn’t pan out for me.

The last time I checked the weather it was supposed to be rainy and dreary today - a perfect day for being indoors.  It turned out to be sunny and breezy, but still nice enough to be outside.  So after a morning of cleaning the house, and 20 billion loads of laundry, the Postman came home from visiting his dad with the announcement that “THE CORN MUST BE PLANTED TODAY.”  His mom and dad have two small gardens that they plant every year.  Since he is not well this year, the planting has fallen to us.  I suspect the entire project will fall to us as I really don’t see the Postman’s dad being well enough to weed, harvest, and empty the garden in the fall.  But who knows.  Anyway, his dad has been talking about the stupid corn  - and how it needs to be planted NOW - for days.  So today was the day.  I think mostly just so P-Man could say it was done.  (In fact, we all went back to visit his dad later this afternoon, specifically to tell him that the corn was in the ground.  Amen.)

I have never planted anything in my life.  Seriously.  I have, in the past, bought plants and/or flowers, and relocated them from pots to the ground.  Then they die.  Always.  I do not have a green thumb.  At all.  We’ll see how this all turns out later this summer.  Maybe since P-Man and the Captain were in on it, the plants won’t know that I was there too and they will grow.

I spent this evening and tonight working since I spent a lot of time with P-Man’s parents last week - IV hookups, doctor appointments, and then the return trip to the hospital via the ER - which took hours.  I have my end of month deadline looming closer than I’m ready for so I need to buckle down in order to get it all finished.

Good news on the baseball front - the Captain did not get hit by a pitch in this weekend’s game!  Woohoo! 

Hope you all had fantastic weekends!

There aren’t enough days in the weekend.  ~Rod Schmidt

This has been one very busy week.

I mentioned in a previous post that the Postman’s father would be coming home from the hospital and I was going to learn how to administer his IV meds.  He did return home last Thursday, and we started his routine…6:00Am, 2:00PM, and 10:00PM.  It made for very short nights here as I would go over and unhook him after the two hours it took for the medication to infuse.  So I would unhook around midnight, then be back over there for 6:00AM.  It was going pretty well, and barring the lack of sleep, I really didn’t mind doing it.  Unfortunately, he is still really weak, and he ended up back at the hospital yesterday.  We think when he is ready to leave the hospital he will go in to a short term care facility until he is strong enough to manage daily life on his own.  He is less than thrilled, as is his wife, but in the long run it is probably the best decision.

We also had baseball every day except Friday, riding, two doctor appointments, a parent luncheon at school, and all the normal everyday stuff.  It has been a long week!  I am looking forward to tomorrow and a day with nothing planned!

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

Time is what prevents everything from happening at once.  ~John Archibald Wheeler<!–, in The American Journal of Physics, 1978, SS–>

Spring always seems to be the busiest time of year for us and this one is shaping up to be no different.

P-Man’s dad has been in the hospital - yes, again - since last Wednesday.  Good news though!  His team of doctors have diagnosed him!  It is a rare infection that is slow growing, and in return, hard to kill.  He is going to be on antibiotics for at least 6 months.  For three weeks after he comes home he will need them to be administered through a PICC line, then he can switch to the oral form of the medication.  If a family member felt confident enough to learn the procedure, he could stay at home and not have to travel to the hospital three times a day for the infusion.   My name came up as a candidate for the position…and since I was unopposed - I win!  For three weeks, I will head over to their house at 6:00AM, 2:00PM, and 10:00PM to administer his antibiotic.  It seems like a fairly easy process - wipe off each port with alcohol, flush the line, hook up the tubing and let him sit there for an hour and a half while the miracle drug flows into his body.  Then I reverse the process upon completion of the infusion.  When I look at it written down, I must admit that it is a little daunting.  But this will save him from having to be driven to the hospital every 8 hours. Or worse, have to be in a short term care unit for the three weeks.  He gets to be in his own home.  And really?  I’m glad I can help out. 

Then there’s all the kid stuff. 

My daughter had an appointment with the optometrist last week and besides her need for glasses, he saw a “freckle” in her eye.  He kept looking at it, then he would continue on with the exam…then he would look at the freckle again.  He even tried to help ME look at it through all his equipment.  Then he pulled out a reference book to try to find a picture.  Then he decided she needs to see a specialist for a second opinion.  I should clarify that he stressed that it is probably nothing…but to be sure, he’d like another opinion.  That has me a wee bit stressed out.  I try not to let things like this bother me until I have the facts straight up.  I’m generally pretty black and white; there’s not a lot of grey area with me.  But…HOLY CRAP…this is HER EYE.

My son has baseball nearly every day this week.  Last night he was very discouraged because he did not get a hit at all during practice.  Baseball is not shaping up to be his strongest sport but he tries so hard!  Tonight he got on base.  He walked (which I think is just fine - he knows when NOT to swing)…and he got nailed in the head with a pitch.  Yeah.  My heart immediately went into my throat and the mom next to me grabbed my arm.  He didn’t fall down (Really?  They are 9 and 10 years old so it’s not like a Beckett fastball was coming toward his head.  But still.)…and he headed down to first without so much as a cringe or an “ow!”.  He even stole second after that.  Needless to say, his confidence improved and he was a happy kid after tonight’s game.  Who knew getting hit in the head was the key to happiness?

Mix in the fact that I have a household to keep in order and a J-O-B to do, and it’s been crazy , crazy, crazy.  Thankfully the Postman has covered making dinner every night.  Oh…and?  Thursday is teacher appreciation day at one of the schools.  The PTO president asked if I could make a breakfast item or a dessert.  Since I am an overachiever a moron, I said I would do one of each.  Go me.

And that’s all there is that’s fit to print in my corner of the world today.

Chaos is a name for any order that produces confusion in our minds.  ~George Santayana

Recently I had someone ask me if the woman she had seen me with was my “real mother”. The Postman beat me to the answer with “No, it’s JUST her mother.”

I cannot tell you how much that question pisses.me.off.

First off, my mother and I are NOT bff’s. Never were. Never will be. A lot happened in my childhood and adolescence that I wish never had. Without divulging too much information, I’ll just say that it probably wasn’t intentional and she couldn’t help some of it. It’s still painful even with that knowledge.

HOWEVER:

It was her who stood at the end of the driveway on my first day of school, and many thereafter, waving to me as I was whisked away on the bus. It was her who braided my hair every.single.day. until second grade when I got it cut short like Dorothy Hamill.

It was her who drove me to countless softball practices and games and became a Girl Scout Troop Leader.

It was her who held my hair back the first time I got drunk and sick when I got the flu.

She helped me buy a car when I was 16. She helped pay for college. She adores her grandchildren.

So while she is not my biological mother, she is my REAL mother. So stop asking such stupid questions, mmkay?

It’s not easy being a mother. If it were easy, fathers would do it. ~From the television show The Golden Girls

My grandmother turns 98 years old today.

98 freakin‘ years old.

She was alive for WWI. How crazy is that?

One of my grandmother’s favorite stories was about where she was when she found out President Kennedy had been shot. She was on an escalator (although I am not sure where), and was so stunned that she forgot to step off and got her heel caught.

My grandparents retired fairly young, and moved from New Jersey to Virginia. They had an active retirement filled with much traveling, golf (my grandfather) and tennis (my grandmother). I spent two weeks with them every summer and remember how grown up I felt being allowed to hang out at the pool at the country club while they played their respective sports. Even better was getting dressed up to go to dinner at “the club”.

We celebrated her 85th birthday at the country club, but by then she had all but given up tennis. They were still members, but mostly it was just a place for them to be social and visit with friends rather than be physically active.

I would like to say that my grandmother has her wits about her, but the truth is, she does not. She would not know me if I walked in today - in fact, she might ask one of her nurses who the new girl is. She is comfortable and cared for. She gets her hair done and her nails done. Hopefully, in some part of her brain, she has memories of her travels, her cocktail parties, and her friends and family.

Happy birthday, Gram!

Soon I will be an old, white-haired lady, into whose lap someone places a baby, saying, “Smile, Grandma!” - I, who myself so recently was photographed on my grandmother’s lap. ~Liv Ullmann

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