Friday, September 15, 2006

FRIDAY POST-September 15

It's morning.. not sure it's a good morning yet or not. I suppose I could say it is because I did wake up, but then , that seems to be where my problems began today too.
No matter how I plan to have a good day, I can usually get a good idea by the amount of pain/or discomfort I have when I put my feet on the floor. Using this as my guideline, I'm not going to have much of a good day today. I'm bearly able to walk or move. When I have these days I become the proverbial 'bull in a china shop'.. and everything within 3 feet of me is in danger of falling. Today is one of those days. No, my coffee is still in the cup where I put it minutes ago, but my medications that I carefully placed in a med cup went over a moment ago, and I have lost one critical one totally. It wouldn't be so bad if I could just bend over and pick them up.... but it's a painful chore..
I take too many meds now.. I never dreamed I'd need all those little pills to keep me healthy.
Mentanx is a B vitamin critical to me to prevent further strokes.. as is Aspirin and Plavix - more or less blood thinners. The Plavix prevents platelets from clumping. Then the 2 Arthritis Strength Tylenols at least once a day, and lately 3X a day.. for the pain. I take Prilosec to prevent gastric upset from all the medications.. And the newest one, Lasix for the swelling in my legs and feet.. the dosage started last Wednesday at 10mg, but has gone to 30mg. It was the half tab of Lasix that I've lost this morning. Of course, when one takes Lasix, one also has to keep the potassium up in the body as Lasix tends to deplete it fast. So, 2 huge Potassium tabs are also ingested every day. And don't forget the Multivitamin and the huge Fish Oil capsule full of antioxidents! By the time I get these all in me, there is no room for breakfast.
I have to weigh myself daily to check the progress of the fluid retention, but just looking at my feet today tells me I haven't lost enough yet. When I saw the doctor last Wednesday I showed him my swollen legs and feet and that's when he changed the treatment to Lasix. It got a lot worse before starting to recede. At one point, I couldn't get any shoes on for some time.. and the extra 10# of fluid weight didn't help. Well, I'm down 3# yesterday.. no change today.
At least I didn't gain it back..
WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE...... I'll have a little cheese, please?

The nice part about having my own blog is that I can whine all I want, and if you don't want to read it, you just skip over it to something more pleasant..... *smile*

Wendell went back to work yesterday and when he got home he looked like someone had beaten him with a club. He is bearly walking.. the Synvisc is ordered. He's going to have both knees worked on.... it'll take a total of 6 weeks. Hopefully, he'll be able to get clearance for surgery at that point, and get a new knee. JJ and I are already working on getting the OR team that we want. It takes a while when you are going for an elective surgery than having something done on an emergency basis.

We covet your prayers today. Please remember both of us.
Growing older is not something we are doing well. But it does make us very aware of the brittle thread of life God has given each of us. It makes us rely on Him so much more.

Yesterday's rain gave new meaning to 'when it rains, it pours'..... UGH. I went to work in a downpour. Soaked to the gills! Roads were flooded everywhere.. and in places that have not flooded before. I sat in my car at 8am waiting for a reprieve, but it seems none was given, so I got out and walked to the office in a pouring rain. I don't move fast. I was drenched again and feeling chilled from it all. My first patient wasn't due till 9:30 thankfully, and by that time I was dried out pretty much. Cheerfully the first patients came in and said to me "What a fabulous day! No rain, sun shining , and the temperature is perfect!" I thought they'd been out in the rain so much their brains were soggy. I had to look for myself. Would you believe there was no rain, streets were dry, and the sun was shining? Beautiful day! It wouldn't be a total loss after all. I was beginning to think I'd dreamed all that water everywhere. BUT......
when I was done for the day and was walking to my car, the first drops hit me...... and by the time I pulled out of the parking lot, we were in the midst of yet another deluge!!
I am thankful that God knows exactly how much rain to put on this earth and where, and when.
If I had that control, I'd probably make it rain late at night only. But as I think about it, we'd miss the blessing of the rainbow- the sign of God's promise to never destroy the world with water again.
I think I was just so tired from trying to sleep the night before when the power went out for several hours... I'd awakened gasping for breath.. of course , the CPAP doesn't work during power outages. I'd only had a couple hours sleep.

Enough for now.. I'd apologize for the 'unloading' but then, you can just read past this post if you so desire. But I hope you read the part where I ask you to pray... it's really very important.
I see the sun is shining.. and the Tylenols seem to have kicked in.. hmmmmm maybe the day won't be as bad as I thought...

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