A Day in the life....  

Entries in on the mend (6)

Wednesday
Feb172010

WOW

Welcome to Wide Open Wednesday, the tired and gloomy whining edition:

I didn't sleep well and my arm hurts. The antibiotic cocktail is hell on my stomach.

That about covers it.

On a positive note, I'm not morally bankrupt, my dogs love me when I feed them and my legs aren't broken.

Oh fine, yes... I can say something nice. Dr. M called twice yesterday to make sure I was improving.

I probably have the best doctor on the planet.

Off to drink another Vat o' water and gag down swaller some more pills.

AG out...

Tuesday
Feb162010

The Meteor

Not so long ago, following K3's being run over, TOG's bout with swine flu and the loss of TOG's step dad, Asthmagirl's boss took her out to lunch.

Asthmagirl must preface this further by saying that her boss inherited her from the CEO who retired last year. Thus althought they have worked together for 6 years, they have not worked TOGETHER. Their working relationship is still developing. So when he said lets go to lunch, she was not sure what to expect.]

After discussing the minor upheaval which was (is?) her life and how it might be handled at work, he looked at her and said "I swear I don't know what will happen to you next. I expect to recieve a call some morning saying that you can't come in because a meteor has struck your house."

Yet another digression here... Asthmagirl cannot seem to tell a story in sequence to save her life.

You know those people that have an occurrence in their life and then say things like "I knew it would happen to me!"? Asthmagirl is not that person. She is always utterly surprised because her glass is half full, is it not? This is why she never recognizes the Asthma Lungs barreling toward her until it is too late to dodge them.

So there the comment hung and Asthmagirl found herself rather amused by it. So much so that she shared it with a comrade at work, KT. Oh how they laughed... A meteor... [insert lilting laughter]. Then they joked about it. Was this the meteor? Was that the meteor? [insert more laughter except this time a scoffing guffaw, cuz REALLY...!]

And the reason Asthmagirl could joke about it so readily was that she never expected the meteor. Glass half full and all that... Thus, no one could be more surprised than our wheezy heroine to have the meteor knock on the door (metaphorically) and announce "It is I!"

As it turns out... Asthmagirl had a boo boo in her arm pit which TOG assured her was from over shaving. Except she hadn't. (what with caring for K3 and all, Asthmagirl has neglected certain procedures and is regretfylly rockin' 'a 5 o' clock shadow') So she went to the rookie Dr. because she didn't have time to drive all those miles to see Dr. M because K3 was having surgery the next day. The rookie Dr. said "this too shall pass" and Asthmagirl heaved a great sigh (as much as the lungs will allow) and thought 'crisis averted'! There was much rejoicing!

And then it came back except it was like it was Barry Bonds on a steroid bender and it was all going medevil on her arm. So finally TOG drove the feisty and reluctant AG to Dr M's yesterday. AG was fully prepared for "this too shall pass" and instead got "we better swab you for MRSA".

Asthmagirl is now taking 3 different antibiotics and drinking a barrel gallon (3.78 liters for my Canadian readers) of water with each dose. Her glass is more than half full, it runneth over! And even through the the thick frames of her rose colored glasses, Asthmagirl is pretty sure she recognizes the meteor.

It was laughing at her...

AG out!

[Asthmagirl sincerely hopes that you will laugh with her. It really is funny!]

Wednesday
Jan202010

Knee Deep in Embarrassment

If you asked my beloved husband, he would tell you that I'm capable of walking by 'disarray' repeatedly, or living with it comfortably before I feel compelled to take action. On the scale of neatness/sloth, I probably fall somewhere around the middle. Sliding any further down the scale gets pretty uncomfortable.

And that's where I find myself. As I pulled my recovering body up to my desk yesterday, I was confronted with 769 unread emails dating back to K3's accident. Yes, I noticed the number climbing, but I didn't look too closely or notice how big it had gotten.

Rather than say all those emails are the issue, I'm going to call them an indicator... a sign that I've possibly let myself be overwhelmed... by circumstance, by obligation, by responsibility. While I feel comfortable that I kept all the balls in the air, I'm kind of embarrassed about being confronted with the evidence of said "over-whelm-ed-ness."

Which left me staring at my monitor last night muttering "so what are you going to do about it, babushka?"

I don't have much of a plan. I know I want to make a list and start checking things off. I know I've begun unsubscribing from some of my email notifications and online shopping stores. If i can go 2 months without having to read each email then I think I can live without all that "reading material!" Again, not that all the filler was the issue, but sheer volume kept me from seeing some of the personal emails that came in that I didn't respond to. *blush*

I know I'm going to get K3 through her rebuild and other needs...

I'm definitely going to get my oil changed...

And I'm going to be more careful of my time...

And I think I want to try yoga too.

What do you do when you're knee deep?

AG out!

Thursday
Jan072010

Looking ahead

This is the view just outside of K3's surgeon's office. Practically under the monorail on 5th Ave, looking north toward the Space Needle. We went downtown today for her check up after surgery.

As the nurse was looking at K3's gums and asking her if she had been brushing the part of the gum where the implant is, K3 said with a perfectly straight face "I'm pretty much just focused on brushing the teeth I have left."

I thought I was going to die from laughing so hard. The nurse was chuckling and we had one of those 'eye contact' things over K3's head that translated into 'kids say the darndest things!'

Things are on track for the next round of surgery at this end of this month. This will be the extraction of the wisdom teeth and the next (and hopefully final) bone graft on her lower jaw bone. They asked did I want her to have anethesia for that appt... um YEAH! Knock her butt out! And refill her liquid Vicodin because I'm going to keep her pain free for the week following. I can't even imagine how porked over her mouth is going to be...

Yours in dental fortitude...

AG

 

Wednesday
Nov252009

Eye am thankful...

Sorry I didn't update yesterday. I think we were all just exhausted.

First, K3... She continues to be a good sport about everything right on down the line: all the meds, the lip cleaning and dressing (every couple hours), the liquid foods and the hated mouth rinses. If you have to take care of someone, you want it to be an awesome patient like K3.

Ironically, this picture represents a "black eye" that has crept up on us the last couple days. It was not there earlier this week. K3 is kind of tickled by it's emergence! It makes her feel tough!

New to her diet is puree foods in the blender, which bodes well for Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow. She had pulverized homemade chicken soup last night and was thrilled!

Today its back to the surgeon for an evaluation of her bone graft. We're very hopeful that its successful. The only thing we did not do this week was brush the screws holding the graft in place. We tried but K3 just cannot get her mouth open far enough. So we've relied on the antiseptic rinses and I hope we've done okay.

Thankfulness comes easy to us this year. K3's accident puts many things in perspective.

I'm grateful that the accident wasn't worse.

I'm grateful that the bus driver gave her his coat and held his umbrella over her while they waited for the ambulance.

I'm thankful for the wonderful paramedics, doctors and nurses that have cared for her in this process.

I'm thankful to the friends and family that have been so good to us; the cards, phone calls and emails... even the door to door turkey delivery!!

I'm thankful for my bloggy friends, my blisters... they've been a ray of sunshine everytime I've sat down at the computer while K3 naps. You ladies are awesome, funny and genuine! I can't thank you enough!

I'm thankful that I get to sit down with my family tomorrow, that we'll all be together, that we're all okay.

I'm thankful for K1, who dropped everything and ran to the hospital that morning to be with K3. She left so fast she forgot to bring a burp rag for Ben!

I'm thankful for K2 who has been there at the ER, the surgery and the at-home nursing. All while balancing a full load of credits and a nursing job.

I'm thankful for TOG (The Old Goat) who lived upstairs with his Swine Flu for 4 days while K3 stayed on the couch. I know he wanted to see her, but he did the right thing staying away and it was hard on him.

I'm thankful to my dad who calls every day to check on her.

Hold your loved ones close tomorrow.

Hugs,

AG

 

Monday
Nov232009

The Guardians 

Meet The Guardians... protectors of the helpless...ever watchful of evil doers... Ready to take on all comers in defense of K3.

"Don't even think about giving her anymore of that nasty antibiotic!"

"That's not more ointment, is it? Step away with the ointment..."

"We would like more soup... and maybe some of that ice cream. And bring a puppy biscuit too."

"Don't mess with me, lady. I'll take you down."

K3 is not short of protectors. And those tiny ones are the fiercest!

AG out!

PS~ Yesterday, not so good for K3. Today will be better. TOG is making a good recovery.