Long time no post

I have been without a computer for quite some time.  A naughty doggie got a hold of my power cord and chewed it up.  Momma was NOT happy.  Neither was Daddy.

I have a few health updates to share:

I am getting my hip checked again.  I have been falling and it is causing injuries to other parts of my body.  The last time I fell I hurt my back and my foot.  Time to get this fixed!!

Next week I am going to a hernia surgeon.  I have a large abdominal hernia.  Years of coughing and a c-section have finally made me cry "uncle".

I will update here when we get a surgery date and found out what the orthopedic surgeon says about my hip.  The general doc also thinks I might have a compression fracture of the vertebrae.  It is quite painful so hoping to get that taken care of soon.

I hit 40 and started to fall apart.  Yuck!!

I have started to write another blog.  It is a frugal/thrifty blog.  We live on a super tight budget  so I thought I would share a few secrets.  My mom just recently helped me do some redecorating.  I am currently sharing some of the new stuff we did.  I will be sharing recipes and tips on how to live well but on the cheap. The blog as has a vintage spin (I love vintage things-- 30's, 40's and 50's).

The Vintage Frugal Mom

Come over and say "HI".

Drug Holiday

I am officially on a drug holiday.  Sunday, I hit my breaking point with the migraines.  I had one regular migraine in the morning... treated it with Advil and then.... by late afternoon I had an ice pick migraine.  Enough to make a person go crazy.  I had bloated beyond feeling human.  My joints were no long working... almost frozen.

Fast forward almost  a week and no MAC drugs... I am a new person.  My headaches are so much better.  I had a dull headache on Friday and I had a large glass of water and it was gone in a short while.. no pain pills or dark room.  The swelling in my joints and limbs is almost gone. Hubby says I look like my old self again.

It just dawned on me.... my scalp doesn't itch as bad as it has for the past 6 months.  Those icky medications!!!

My joints are so much better.  I can get in and out of my chair without help.  I can climb stairs without having to grip the railing.  To that I say "SWEET!!"

We will see what the docs decide in another week....

Long Time No Update

Sorry I have been so quiet.  Life has gotten out of my control lately.

We had another snowstorm this weekend.  We are not venturing out as we had rain before the snow... slick!!!!  None of us care to fall or be in a car accident so we are sticking close to the fireplace and eating lots of soup.

I went to a new doctor last week.  Mycobacteria Avium Complex is her speciality.  She was awesome!!!  The doc is hard to get to see but my CF docs made the initial referral so that made things a touch easier.  I cannot lay flat anymore.  We found out I have a sloppy, lack of muscle esophagus.  I guess food goes down by gravity and not much else.  The hole in my lung is likely due to stomach acid coming back up and heading down the wrong tube.  The recliner is my new bed.

This week I go back to the doc and go a med level blood test.  They will stick me two times to get certain med levels to make sure the dosage of TB drugs are right.  Human pin-cushion here I come. Kiddo has to stay in the waiting room as  I will be going to a restricted part of the hospital.

I have been doing a touch of sewing.... doing all these lung treatments is time consuming.

I am making mini hand warmers and drawstring bags to hold them.

Here are the beginnings of the drawstring bags:

Here is what the hand warmers look like (fancy bean bag like things):

I also started some new quilt blocks.  I have only done three of them...

Yep, more log cabin blocks

Hopefully I will have more pictures to share soon.  I am fighting seasonal affect disorder and one of the ways to treat it is to do more things that a person enjoys... to get them out of the sad funk.... sewing is my de-funker.  

My quilting and sewing boards on pinterest are full so it is time to get sewing and creating.  Toodles!!!

Enjoying Home

I am doing great at home.  I am flushing my own line and administering my own drugs.

I am not back to doing the cooking and the cleaning yet... trying to ease back into life.

When I got home I had packages to open.  I received this fun Lemon Bumblebee themed gift basket.

I also got a plant for the garden.  Hubby took it outside immediately and planted it in the backyard.  I am not suppose to plant/garden anymore due to my Nocardia or have houseplants.

I have more energy every day.  By the time my mom leaves I should be strong enough to be on my own.

Well....I am about half done with my morning IV medication.  Will flush the line and then rest. Kinda of rough getting up early in the am to do one of the meds. Can't quit yawning....

Evening #4

I am doing great!!

I am taking all the medications and doing lots of resting.  I am actually getting really bored.

I don't get to go home until my levels are just right and we find the right dosage.

I am been doing lots of walking.  Walking the halls, going down to the cafeteria and walking around my room.  My back gets tired when I sit in bed too long.

My heart rate has gone down and so has my blood pressure.  I am feeling very positive and in a great mood.

I am stilling hating my PICC.  The tape itches me.  I am looking forward to a dressing change next week.  Still waiting to get my eyes checked and my hearing checked.

I have wonderful nurses, CNA's and therapists.  Everyone is friendly and so very helpful.

Hugs to everyone!!

Day 1 in Hospital

I am in the hospital.  I have started my first two drugs.  No side effects.  Nothing!!  SWEET!!!

Tonight I start drug #3.  I am very nervous about that drug.

I am suppose to "maybe" get my PICC today.  I have a plain jane IV for the past few hours.  It is giving me fits (arm is very sore).

The food is pretty good.  We will see how long this lasts.

Will try to update later today.

Out of Order

I have been "out of order" for over a week.  I had a tooth with a cavity that became infected and irritated.  I decided to have it extracted... rather than an expensive root canal.  I am still on a sightly soft diet.  

Can you see the black spot in the back of my mouth on the right side??  That is where they yanked my tooth.

(Oh, and on top of the tooth issues, I had a lovely sinus infection).... Yuck!

A week later my mouth is finally "un-swollen" and the hole is much smaller. 

I have finally gotten back to quilting and I have 4 projects that I am working on at once. Talk about crazy!!!

Since the pain is gone from my tooth, it is time to getting back to decluttering and minimalizing.  I have 4 LARGE boxes for charity ready for pickup.  Can't believe all that stuff was hiding in my house!!!

Will post pics of some of my current projects soon. Hopefully.  

I have to go back to the dentist and get 3-4 more teeth drilled and filled.  Yuck!

Neat Video/ Neat Story

Turning into a Blueberry

If a needle enters my body and bruise is sure to follow.  A little over a year ago I had to do a heart bubble test and my arms ended up looking like this:

On Friday I had an arterial blood gas draw/test. An arterial blood gas draw is painful.  They have to access an artery in your wrist.  After two shots of numbing drugs and then the IV cath this is what my arm looks like. 

1 day post arterial blood gas draw

A little bit of bruising starting.  You can see I even had bruising and swelling down into my arm.

By yesterday (2 days post test) it was looking icky:

Yep, even my hand is bruised now.  

It is a touch tender.  I can't use a raised mouse pad or lay it directly on my wood rocking chair arm.  

I am hoping it will fade sooner than later.

First Cardiac/Pulmonary Appointment

Yesterday I had my first of many cardio/pulmonary appointment.  I endured a stress test/exercise endurance test.

They got my heart rate up to 200 beats a minute.  I thought my heart was going to leap right out of my chest.  They took several units of blood.  All of this while I was riding an exercise bike.

My arm is bruised, my knees hurt and my calves ache a bit.

The doctor said that I did really well.  I may not be as out of shape as we had previously thought.  My heart did really good keeping up during the test.  Now I get to wait for the final results later on this coming week.

I hope I don't to do that test again any time soon.  It kicked me in the back end.

Now to start the rehab portion of this cardiac/pulmonary rehab.  I have my consults with the therapy department this week.

65 Red Roses Documentary

This plays Thursday night on OWN channel (Oprah Winfrey Network) 9/8C.

Check it out!!

New Lung/Heart Issues

I had to back to the doctor.  I found out I have tachycardia due to my stinky lungs.  Just too much work for it to do.

We are going to do cardio/pulmonary rehab.  I guess I am going to fix my heart, lungs and loose some weight.

I did a walk test and found out that I am doing okay with oxygen while exercising... my heart just races.

I need to get out my exercise clothes and tennis shoes. :(

Update:  I have my first appointment scheduled.... an exercise tolerance test

No surgery

Today was suppose to be surgery day.  NO surgery.  My lung #'s at my last doctor appointment were disappointing.  I decided that I needed to increase my numbers before going under anesthesia--- even though my doctors said it would be okay.   I didn't want to risk any pulmonary complications.

I am glad that I postponed the surgery.... I have a sore throat today (dry and sinus drainage). I had a cold a few weeks ago and a stuffy nose keeps hanging on.

We will try the surgery again later in the year.  Now I have time to increase my lung numbers.... even 3-5 points would be amazing!!

Back but tired...

I am back online again.  I will spare you the details but I had some tummy issues. I had to do a colon cleanse yesterday and it was miserable.  I am a few pounds lighter.  Not a fun way to loose weight all of a sudden.  The colon cleanse medication messed with my blood sugars. I felt like I was shaking all day.  I am  exhausted today from it all.

I have most of my housework done and I need a huge nap.  I haven't made it into my sewing room since Saturday.  I am afraid it will be Saturday again before I get in there again AND sew.  I look longingly at my quilt blocks and patterns from the doorway but there is no time to play.

A sink full of dishes is calling my name and then I need to start supper.

See ya later...

Be back....

I will be back in a few days.

 I have some health issues that I need to take care of (hoping for quick solutions). Its nothing serious just inconvenient and uncomfortable.

See ya soon!!

Almost.... almost scheduled

We finally made the decision to move forward with my first hip surgery.  I am of mixed feelings.  Sometimes I am scared out of my mind and other times I am calm and ready to begin the process of rehabilitation.  I am sure this will continue until they give knock me out for each surgery.

It will be a long road of rehab. One week recovery for the first surgery and then an initial 6 weeks to 6 months for the second surgery (depending on which one the doctor thinks I need)-- reconstruction of existing hip or total hip replacement.

I talked to the nurse today to let her know I am giving the green light to schedule surgery #1.  The next freaky moment is when we have a surgery date.  I have had tons of surgeries.... I am still having lots of anxiety.  I don't like letting go and letting people cut up my body even if the are tiny incisions.

Looks like next week we will have a surgery date (for likely next month).  We are scrambling around  this month to get all my pre-surgery check ups done so that all will go as smoothly as possible.  We need to make sure my lungs will deal with all the necessary medications necessary for surgery and pain.

I have been stumbling around here something horrible.... at least I haven't fallen in over a month.  Hubby was tempted to buy me a walker the other day.  I told him he should have gotten me a cane.  I am tempted to find a old classy cane to use for the next few month... something with character (something not metal and "medical" looking).

Will update when I have a surgery date.  Then I need to get cookin' and freezin' so that my family will have some casseroles to eat when I am recovering.

Any suggestions for casseroles that freeze  and thaw well??

Thanksgiving Table Changes

I was tired of our fall floral arrangement on the dining room table.  I decided it was time to make a little change.

It was also time to get out my Thanksgiving ornaments

They are so cute!!

Mr. Turkey is my favorite

It feels good to be up and around after being sick this weekend.  The prednisone seems to be working... coughing less and my chest and back and not spasming quite so much. My blood sugars are doing just fine.... thankfully. 

Icky Prednisone

I have croup for the second time in 2 months.  I finally got a hold of my CF nurse and she gave me the news... time to do a burst of prednisone.  I took my first dose last night before bed.  I took my sugars this morning and they were 40 points higher than normal.  If that is the case for the rest of the day then they will still be under 150  if I am lucky.

I guess if this is the time to exercise this is it.  I am hoping it will keep my sugars down and keep the steroid weight off.

I am hoping to get some serious sewing done today.  I also have some holiday cards for hubby's business to address.

Never a dull moment!!