Country_Cinderella’s place

Quick update

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:59:10 -0500

Lots of things to catch up on, but will only be brief at this point in time.

Mom is doing well infection is all gone stitches have been removed. She can not get around much easier than pre-surgery, still on the mend though.

Dads varicose vein surgery was a success and there is discussion of possible doing other leg in the near future. Doctor is still waiting to decide.

I am back to work, have been working steady since the beginning of July. I am working at 3 different high schools in one district that is adding security cameras and door alarms as well as other security items. Occasionally I have to go from school to school in a couple days time, because of priority projects, but for the most part work is concentrated on one school at a time.

I have worked for this company before and for multiple years so i am very comfortable working for them now. When I started on this job I was working for a foreman that I had never worked for before, but he is a good guy to work for. Since then he has been pulled off to work another job and he suggested me as the person to take his place. So now I am the Foreman on the job.

I have a crew of 4 people so it is not too big. The biggest obstacle right now is the fact that school has started and we are having to work around all the students and teachers. I try to make sure that I get to bed very early so that my problems with fatigue and other health issues will not affect my ability to do this job. I really do enjoy being a foreman even when there are headaches about the job.

I get up between 4:30 and 5 am in order to make sure that I am on the job before the 7 am start time. I try to get to bed no later than 8:30 so that I have plenty of rest. I have had to work overtime on the last 2 Saturdays. The one 2 week ago was a bit more grueling than this most recent one. On that particular Saturday we worked outside allllllll day for 10 hours. It was not extremely hot but, it was very sunny and even though I made sure to wear sun block I still got sunburned in spots. I like to wear bib overalls when I am working and the straps on the bibs would keep shifting my shirt around such that my neck was exposed much deeper in the back than I had sunblock on. It also bunched my sleeves up such that the back of my upper arms got very burnt. Even when I would try to put sun block on the spots it would just get rubbed right back off while I was working. Thank goodness it was not a severe burn and it was not a dehydrating day. I still was very tired by time the 10 hours was over though. I was so grateful that we only had to work 8 hours this last Saturday.

Well I would love to take the time to catch up on my neighborhood, I miss everyone, but if I want to keep rested and ready for work I best get ready for some more shut eye.

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More on Mom

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 09:52:54 -0500

Saturday:
Mom and sister discussed what to do about infection and decided to call doctor's exchange. Doc said since it is an incision do not take chances go to ER, Mom goes to ER they admit her for antibiotics via IV

Sunday - Monday:
    Partner Dr. of her neurosurgeon(her is out of town) comes to assess situation. He has her sent for CAT scan to check for fluid build up. Scan reveals fluid build up. Partner says that if he was to decide he would take her back into surgery and clean up wound. Partner Dr. confers with Mom's Dr.. Mom's Dr. calls her and tells her that he agrees with Partners assessment and plans to do Surgery first things Tuesday morning (he cancels other scheduled surgeries to be able to do this).
    Hospital's Infectious Disease Specialist visits Mom and asks questions about her discharge instructions (basically she was not given any), asks if was taking antibiotics after being sent home (Mom says no she was only given pain meds). IDS explains a little more about what was done during initial surgery including something about some packing being used for when Neuro nicked disc. (not positive how accurate this info is because I am getting it second and third hand). IDS also tells Mom that she may need IV antibiotics for 6 weeks after this new surgery, and then possibly pills for rest of life. (I think this is supposed to be severe case possibility).
    Some time during all of this they indicate to Mom that she is probably to fault because of not cleaning wound properly at home (Remember no wound care instructions given at discharge) (I am not happy with the sounds of this)

Tuesday:
Mom has surgery at 8:30 am. As is typical Dad forgets to call me later to let me know surgery is over and Mom is in new room. I have to call him and find this out.
Mom is told by doctor's that infection was only in the skin not inside the wound. She is also told that after stay in hospital she will have to be on IV antibiotics for 4 while at home. (I am curious why she would need such extensive amounts of IV antibiotics for only skin infection, when they did not even send her home with pill antibiotics after first surgery)

As of Tuesday night, Mom is in room had dinner (soup and juice and pudding and such). She is on IV antibiotics and pain meds, but doing okay.

I will be heading in to see Mom today while I am in doing Union paperwork, I will also be going over to clean Mom's bathroom thoroughly and replace shower curtain on bath window, because she is worried that some how she may have gotten bacteria on her in there to cause infection (Mom has a clean bathroom, I do not believe this is what happened but I will do this for Mom).

I have told Mom and Dad both that just to be on the safe side they should keep track of everything they can remember being told to them and done or not done for Mom. I then think they should at least consult a malpractice lawyer. Mom and Dad can not afford a second surgery and visiting home nurse care for the IV antibiotics. Maybe when I hear more of the information directly from Mom and Dad and not just over the phone, maybe I will feel differently.

more on mom later

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[Update] Mom is doing well (kind of)

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:46:28 -0500

I just checked in with Mom, she is doing well.

I came home Sunday afternoon and left her in the care of my Dad and my Sister.

Mom says that it is slow going but each day she is feeling a bit better and now she does not feel like she has to have someone around 24/7 to help her get around.

Update: Just talked to Mom again today (6/14/08). She is doing okay for the most part, but has a small infection around her stitches. (she had my sister look at them because she was seeing small spots of blood on things that had been touching her back, i.e. sheets, nightgown and such). Mom is supposed to see the Neurological Surgeon on Tuesday, but she is going to call her primary care Monday to see if she should do anything before then (neuro is out of town till Tuesday). I asked her if she had my sister clean it with peroxide or something after looking at it, she said 'no I was afraid it would make it hurt worse'. It is not a severe infection, just a small one around the stitches area. Maybe she will changer her mind and have my sister clean it when she comes back over.

All in all Mom is doing well. It may not seem like it sometimes because she has a very very low pain threshold and she will readily admit to it. For having such a low pain threshold she is a real trooper. She is making sure to try and get some walking in every day like the doctor told her to, even if it hurts a little, because she does not want anything to go wrong.

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Dad said 'save your gas'

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 18:20:13 -0500

I will not be going into my Mom and Dad's tomorrow, for Father's Day, because Dad told me to save my gas. Dad knows that I am still not working so he suggested I not make the trip in. We did not have big plans, just our traditional 'breakfast and bowling with Dad'. My dad has one hobby, bowling. So it is traditional for my sister and I to go out to breakfast and then go bowling with my Dad on his Birthday and on Father's Day.

I talked to Mom about it a few minutes ago and asked her to tell Dad that I would try to get in to see him on either Tuesday or Wednesday (his days off), when I have to go all the way into St. Louis to my Union Hall. I usually try to make a round trip out of it and stop and see Mom and Dad when ever I do that. Of course that only works on the days that I do not get a 'call', if I get a 'call' I have to go to the contractor for a kind of interview. If I am hired I fill out the requisite paperwork, if not I get 2 hours show up pay. Depending on where the contractor's office is I may still go see Mom and Dad on the times when I get turned down. If I am already halfway home I just put it off until the next time.

So no Father's Day plans with Dad, but still thinking of him.

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The trees are falling

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 13:49:07 -0500

I just read an online news article about some very historically significant trees in France being cut down.

It would seem that during their time in France, soldiers stationed at camps near Normandy, soldiers made carvings in the trees near the camps. The carved their own names or names of loved ones or just dates. Despite being carved in the trees still grew and flourished for 6 decades and that is the problem. Because the trees that line the road were overgrown and hanging dangerously over a road, official sited the land owner. He was required to prune back the trees or be fined. Because of the massive amount of pruning that would be required, it was cheaper for him to contract someone to just cut them down. Thus the trees began falling. Someone has finally taken notice and is making an attempt to have the remaining trees designated historical landmarks. Surprisingly they have never been given this status in all the years that they have remained untouched, it is only after many of them have been felled that it is being thought.

It was an interesting story and I thought I would share.

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Spending time with Mom

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:09:25 -0500

I am here at Mom and Dad's house so that Mom can have someone around to help her while Dad is at work.

Mom was released from the hospital around 1pm on Friday but I did not get here until about 6pm. Fortunately, even though Dad had to sleep so he could work the night shift, my sister was able to come over and stay with Mom until I got here.

I would have been here sooner but apparently the cats dislodge one of the phone cords at the house and anyone calling just got a busy signal. I had laid down to take a nap since I did not know exactly when I would have to be helping Mom (they did not let her know when she was being discharged until shortly before it happened). When I got up and checked my cell phone (it does not always get a signal at the house) I found that I had 5 missed calls and 3 voice mails. I knew that meant that for some reason nobody could get through on the house phone (my friends and family all know that my cell does not get good reception and to call the house phone first).

I called my sister and let her know that I got the voice mail and would be in as soon as possible. I fixed the house phone cords, packed some clothes so I could stay at Mom and Dad's, put the dogs away and headed in to stay with Mom.

Mom is not doing too bad all things considered. She is in a lot of pain since it was back surgery and has a hard time getting up and down out of a chair or off of the bed, but she can walk around and will slowly get better and better.

I will have to leave for a little while tomorrow to go down to my Union hall to vote for new officers, but Dad will be able to help her if need be because he does not go right to bed after he gets off of work.

Well I best get some rest myself or I will not be able to stay awake to help Mom tomorrow.

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Meals for Dad, Muscle spasms for Mom

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 02:58:09 -0500

I went over to Mom and Dad's today, so that I could cook some meals for him and so that I could do a little of the laundry for Mom, before she gets home.

BFF # 3 went with me today so that I would have some help. It was fun just the two of us getting to hang out. I made two different meals for dad and then after he had some dinner I put it all away in the fridge so that he could just fix a plate later this week for lunch or dinner. Since Mom's back has been bothering her so bad she can not stand at the stove and cook, so Dad has been existing on frozen dinners and going out. He has found some dinners that he really likes so he does not seem to mind so much, but I just thought it would be nice for him to have something home cooked.

I did not get a chance to go and see Mom since I was busy cooking two different meals and doing some laundry, as well as doing some of my own errands before I went in. I did talk to her a couple of times on the phone. My sister called me after visiting with Mom to give me a progress report.

The got Mom up and had her sitting up in the chair while she tried to eat her meal. She only felt up to eating her tomato soup. When they opened the lid on her open faced roast beef meal the smell made her nausea. Not because it was bad but because of a side effect from the anesthetic. My sister had told me about something similar happening to her after she had surgery not too long ago.

Mom decided that while they had her up it would be a good time to get them to take her to the restroom before she got back into bed. Just the walking (with a lot of help) to the chair to eat and then the bathroom and then back to bed, gave her muscle spasms and made her very achy. They gave her some muscle relaxers for the spasms and some more pain meds. Other than that she is doing just fine.

After the last time I talked to Mom I knew I was not going to be able to go see her for the night because I was still cooking and she was sounding pretty tired from the muscle spasms and the pain meds.

I probably will make another trip in tomorrow. I might make another meal and do more laundry. Plus if Mom gets discharged tomorrow sometime I have been elected to be at home with her (my Dad is not a patient (no pun intended) person and my sister has to work. That is okay though that is why I made sure to use up one of my vacation weeks this week rather than try to get a new job from the Union hall and then have to ask to take off.

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Dad wasn't thinking

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:39:45 -0500

I went to see my mother at the hospital after her back surgery Wednesday. When I got there I had to laugh at Dad's directions on what side of the building to go to and which entrance to use.

I just don't think Dad was putting too much thought into it when he told me where to go.

Okay now you want to know why I think his directions where so funny, don't you. (mind you they were just haha funny not ROFLOL funny).

Dad told me the street entrance that he uses to get to the main part of the hospital, no big deal just not the one that I will be using because I am coming from the opposite direction. I pretty much know most of the hospital because family has been there before, but there have been a few remodels so I try to incorporate Dad's directions into my knowledge of the hospital grounds.

Here is the funny part, Dad tells me to go to the parking lot where there is a statue in front of the building and use that entrance. (no problem right? wrong?! LOL) What Dad did not think about is the fact that the hospital is a catholic hospital named after St. Vincent de Paul, so there are statues every where. Statues of Mary, of St Vincent, of Jesus. Fortunately Daddy's oldest girl knows how to read and the hospital likes to be helpful; the entrance is marked with big bold lettering 'Hospital Entrance'

So I made it to see Mom without getting lost, lol and I told Mom about Dad's directions, it gave her a little laugh and she said 'you Dad wasn't thinking'

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Surgery for Mom

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:47:45 -0500

My Mom had to have surgery on her back yesterday morning. I had not mentioned it until now party because I was not posting and partly because when I did post I wanted to keep that to myself for a little while longer.

My Mom has been in a lot of pain for the last year or more. She has been going to the doctor about it and at first they just put her on muscle relaxers thinking it was just a pulled muscle, but they only gave her a minimal amount of relief. She also has been going to a chiropractor for a while now to see if that would help, again it only gave her a minimal amount of relief, but never totally making it go away.

After over a year of constant increasing pain with less and less mobility she was finally referred to a neurosurgeon. With the use of MRI's the neurologist was able to detect that there was a small cyst inside my mother's spinal column. There is a medical term for the problem but I do not remember it off the top of my head, oh wait it just occurred to me, spinal stenosis. That is when he told her that she was going to need surgery. At first she was not too sure that she was ready to consider that option, but after looking up more information about the problem and the surgery to help, plus the intense pain, helped her to decide to have the surgery done.

Because the problem is in the lower lumbar area of her spine the surgery has much less risk and possible complication, than higher up on the spine would have. That is not to say there are no risk or complications just much less.

As seems to be normal for my family if there are complications we will find them, whether we want to or not. Mom's surgery went well for the most part but there was some kind of minor complication that will require a couple more days of hospital bed rest and supervision to make sure she is healing properly before discharging her. If the surgery had gone super well she would have been discharged in one day, but now it looks like the will keep her there for a couple extra days.

She seems to be doing okay and in good spirits for someone that has to stay totally flat in bed. I think I would go stir crazy in no time if I was required to lay totally flat for more that just one day, heck one day would be hard for me, I just do not like laying flat on my back. I am a side sleeper for the most part. I guess if I was in the pain she had been in I would think differently.

Tomorrow I will go back in to see her and then go over to Mom and Dad's house to do a few things for her since she has not been able to and Dad is in no way a house keeping kind of person.

I decided I am going to cook up a couple of different dinners so that Dad will have some left overs to eat for a few days instead of going out or eating boxed dinners. Mom mentioned to my sister that she would like to have the sheets changed on her bed for when she gets home, so either my sister or I will get that done for her. And I think I will also try to help with some of the laundry (again another chore Dad is not very effective at).

I already went over to their house after visiting with Mom, and made some sweet potatoes for Dad. A friend of mine gave me at least 3 lbs of sweet potatoes that she had a surplus of, because the food pantry gave them to her. I like sweet potatoes but I would never eat them all up before they went bad so I decided to take them in and make them up for Dad so that he could have a treat.

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Another pet health issue but no Micheal involved

nobody@vox.com(country_cinderella) — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:28:23 -0500

We have had another pet issue going on at the same time as all the dog fighting. One of our older cats, Tommy, has gone from weighing a healthy 16lbs about 1.5 years ago to weighing 10 this Saturday when we took him to the vet. We have already wormed him and treated him for fleas so we knew it was not anything to do with those two things. We had noticed that Tommy was drinking a lot more than usual besides losing weight and this concerned us. So blood work had to be done. They tested him for Feline leukemia and FIP (although I am not sure why since he was up to date on his shots) and those test came out fine, ( I was sure they would).

The vet called us back on Sunday with the results of the blood work and Tommy has diabetes (we suspected this because of his symptoms). Tommy now has to get insulin injections twice a day every day as close to 12 hours apart as reasonable. After 5 days I am to take Tommy up for a glucose check to see if the dosage the vet has prescribed is going to be the right one or if changes need to be made.

Because we have multiple cats the vet is going to let us try just working with the insulin first, but if that is not enough we may have to put Tommy on special food. We should be used to that, we now have to give all the cats some canned food as well as their dry because Nacho has such a high metabolism he does not keep enough weight on with just eating the dry food, he is also one of our older cats.

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