Mom : The Update

A long two weeks after her initial fall my mom finally got her MRI done. They took a look at her shoulder and said she has a torn rotator cuff. She will need to contact an orthopedic surgeon on Friday to make an appointment and find out if this really needs surgery or if PT and time can heal it. She has been released from the nursing facility (thank goodness) and is home. She has a prescription for Norco which is helping her manage the pain.

Rattle Crash Beep Beep

On the 1st of May mom got into a car accident. Mom was banged up, a few minor cuts, bruising and lots of soreness. She got to ride in an ambulance for a second time as her blood pressure was really high. The doctors kept her for a few hours for observation and she was released.

The Focus got smooshed up and was going to cost more to fix than it was worth.

So this past weekend we went car shopping. Looked at many dealerships and Mom decided on a Honda Fit. Because the Fit is Go!

Good News

1) Today Mair & Papa celebrated their 62nd wedding anniv. Congratulations! 2) Our good friend Jeri had back surgery on Thursday. Everything went well and she is home recuperating. Hope your recovery is swift and as little pain as possible. 3) The Askew's added a new little blessing to their family on Friday afternoon. Welcome to the world Aiden!

I have the BEST husband

I wore my contacts on Sunday with no problems, then halfway through Monday they started to bother me and by the time I was to drive home I was having trouble keeping my eyes open. My left eye in particular was burning badly and very sensitive to light. Even after having my contacts out for a day it was still bothering me greatly. I called my mom and asked if she could mail my glasses which I had forgotten at her house this past weekend, she said she would send them priority which would take a day or two I said that would be fine.

On Tuesday I wore just my right contact to school and had a heck of a day. I was having difficulty keeping my left eye open and it was tearing up quite a bit. I made it through I am not quite sure how I made it home. Once home I noticed my glasses had arrived. My eye hurt so bad I didn't pay much attention to that and just curled up in bed and crashed. When I woke up to go to the gym Paul explained to a very confused me how my glasses got here so fast.

My wonderful husband drove 100 miles to and from SD to get my glasses for me even though he had a migraine, he knew how much pain I was in even though I didn't tell him how bad it really was. Thank You Bubba! You are the coolest.

Zmoms Update

Mom is getting stronger and faster everyday. Each time she goes to the physical therapist she gets an A+, at least thats what she tells me. Her motion is getting better and last weekend we were even able to go to the mall and see a movie. She did very well and climbed up about a dozen stairs! Huzzah.

I get by with a little help from my friends

Yesterday afternoon my car went kaput on me, so I took it into our mechanic near our old apartment. I had the brilliant idea to bring my bike along in case it wasn't an easy fix, I could then ride it over to Biola and walk my miles for the day. Paul would come to pick me up after he was off work and done his workout and we would head home. Well that is what was the plan.

I rode my bike, I almost made it to Biola until a sapling stepped in my way. I was going down the small hill between Imperial and Biola when I hit a divot which I hadn't paid attention to and before I could correct the bike wheel I slammed into a tree. Everything happened so fast, thinking back now it is hard to remember what exactly happened.

I know that I skidded a few feet, my glasses were knocked clear off and my cell phone was missing. I stood up and started to stare at the ground trying to figure out where my glasses were and trying not to move much because I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. A guy yelled from across the street asking if I was OK. Then a dude wearing a Biola t-shirt reversed his car back towards where I was he got out and helped me find my glasses and phone. (Thank you who ever you are!) I stood there with my right leg and arm shaking assuring him I was OK and was just going across the street.

This is when I called Paul and told him what happened, he said he couldn't understand a word I was saying and that I needed to slow down and take a breath. I finally calmed myself down enough for him to understand me. Then I called Jeri hoping she could run me by a Kaiser. She didn't answer (found out later she was in a meeting). I walked over to the admin. building at Biola hoping to find her there, the ladies at the front desk looked at me like I was a crazed person who was going to do something rash. Then a man came out said he would try to get a hold of her in the meeting, sent Jeri an email and suggested I go to the health center for some ice. Problem is the health center closes at 430 during interim.

So I go back to Metzger and the brilliant idea to see if Amy is around or if she is in a meeting also pops into my head. Lucky for me Amy is there, she takes me and my bike back to her office tells me to take a seat and then finds me some ice. Amy began to look up where the nearest Kaiser is. Jeri and Ruth both show up, Jeri helps Amy navigate Kaisers website and Ruth finds a first aid kit to clean up some of the deeper abrasions. A plan is devised, Amy will take Ruth to pick up her car and Jeri will take me to the doctors.

Paul beat us to Kaiser so Jeri dropped me off and the boy took me inside to get fixed up. They take my vitals and put us in a room. An x-ray is ordered and a tetanus shot. The doctor looked me over and after looking at the x-ray nothing is broken just sprained, strained, scraped, bruised and sore. Photos show a few of the scrapes and my GIANT bump on my arm.

Doc says I will be quite sore, and I am to make sure the area stays covered, clean and I should watch for any possible infections.

The Tree was a fierce competitor, since at the end he was standing and I was not it has been concluded that The Tree is the winner. I do not think it was a fair fight as he is rooted in the ground and I was in motion.

Physical Therapy

The doctor said that when he got in there to give my mom a new knee that it was much worse than any scan had let on. So no wonder she was in so much pain and having difficult standing and walking. She was in quite a bit of pain last evening.

Today she began physical therapy and after breakfast she took her first few steps with the new knee. Mom says her leg is very sore this afternoon but she is on her way to recovery. Hopefully by next Christmas we wont have to go find a wheelchair for her when we go out some place.

Now for the difficult part

So at noon mom went in for surgery. Two hours later the doctor called said everything went well and she would be in recovery for a few hours before being taken to a room. She will be on much pain medication and physical therapy for the next two days at SHARP in Coronado. Updates of her progress will follow.

Manana

I do not know the time as of now but tomorrow my mom will be having knee replacement surgery! Please pray that the surgery goes well, she is not in unbearable pain and that this helps her mobility and the current pain she is in. I am leaving now to go down to her house for the next 16 days. Paul will visit on the weekends but it will be hard to be away from him for so long. At least I get to steal the kitty for part of that time. :) If you are down in SD and want to have lunch, coffee or something let me know.

Finally Scheduled

My mom has been waiting and waiting on a list to have knee replacement surgery. We finally have a set date of when the surgery will take place, December 19th. We are glad she received a date when I would be able to have time off from work (Christmas break) so that I can help her. This is good news as she is in pain, cannot move around a lot or walk very far. But sort of a downer as it is going to be taking place just days before Christmas. Please pray for the surgeons to complete a successful surgery, that my mom will be able to heal quickly and be able to feel an immediate difference in her joint pain.

Oops...

Yesterday while my mom was at work, she tripped on a box and fell. At first she was going to drive herself home, but then discovered she couldn't even make it out of her department. So my dad was called to take her to the doctor where they found she broke two bones in her right foot.

She's obviously not thrilled. She doesn't have to have a cast, but she will be wearing one of those big boots for a while. I think the fact it's on her driving foot is the worst part for her. Workers comp should cover her for this one, so that will help out.

Because her mobility is somewhat limited, my brother decided to promote my sister to "mom". The dog was then promoted to "sister", the cat to "dog", and the toaster to "cat". My mom has been demoted to the role of "toaster", but is eligible to recover her position once she is feeling better. Everyone seems to be adjusting to their new roles quite nicely.

is it supposed to feel like that?

So after school today I booked it down to SD because I had a temporary crown put on before Thanksgiving and it was time to put on the permanent. From the moment they said there would be no numbing of my mouth I was very skeptical of this whole event. But since I didn't have a choice I gripped the arms of the chair and waited for the worst. I survived, thank goodness. It was not a pleasant experience and there was quite a bit of filing down my teeth so they would fit properly together. Something still feels a bit off, but I said I would give it a week or so and see if I didn't notice a difference. My mouth is sore but no where near what it was when I had the first appointment and I was surprised I could eat Thanksgiving dinner. Hopefully it will feel better in the morning.

The Beast

3:10pm - I make the mistake of pulling into the garage

3:11 - Try to push the button to close the garage, it fails to close

3:12 to 3:15 - I repeatedly push the button to try & get it to close there is no response from the beast

3:16 - A thought to manually close the garage pops in my head. I pull the lever, and the beast releases

3:16 and 10 seconds - I realize that yes the garage may close that way but can I get it back open…

3:16 and 11 seconds - My hand sticks out to grab the door before it shuts all the way

3:16 and 12 seconds - My ring finger and middle finger get closed in the door.

3:18 - There has been much crying about the pain in my fingers, I run inside to get an ice pack

3:19 - I knock on the managers door, but of course no one is home

3:23 - I call Paul to see how close to home he is, sadly it will be another hour

3:30 - After trying some more to get the wires reconnected I give up

3:35 - I roll down the windows in my car and turn on the computer hoping our wireless reaches to the garage, it doesn’t. L So I decide to try and grade some papers while I wait

3:45 - Garage Buddy comes home, I explain the situation to her and her daughter
I am now missing the reception for Mike Long that I was on my way to…

3:48 - Our Garage Buddy goes inside to try and contact the owner of the place

3:55 - I am still holding on, no one has been back out for quite awhile. My fingers are swollen and becoming quite red, they are beginning to tingle and throb

3:57 - The top of my middle finger feels numb to the touch, I do not think this is a good sign

4:02 – I call my mommy for “poor babies”

4:10 - The owner shows up and fixes the door... thank goodness.

10:02 - There is still a weird numbness in my fingers, I hope it will go away soon

OUCH

This morning I woke up bright and early. I ate some cereal, brushed my teeth and headed over to the dentist with my new book. I made my next appointment and sat down for a moment before I was called back. Then I was given two shots to numb the area where he would be doing work, when he began to drill my tooth I winced. He said it was a hard tooth to get numb and so I got a THIRD shot to numb the area (I should have asked for a fourth). Then for the next 1 and 1/2 hours I was poked, prodded, pushed, and pulled on. And by the end of it I had an UGLY gold temporary crown to show for it. I was asked to rinse out my mouth and when I tried to swish the water I accidentaly spit some because the left half of my mouth, tounge and lips were numb. The numbness continued on from 1030am till about 5pm. I go back in about 3 weeks to have the permenant crown put on. All this because my lousy tooth broke not once but twice.
The day did get better though. I hung out at home, did some chores and read my book. Then I headed up to Poway to hang with Beth. We sat and chatted and laughed for a couple of hours. Always a delightful time. Her kiddos are absolutly darling. Then it was time to head home to pick up the mommy for dinner. I wish my mouth would have stayed numb longer. Eating dinner was a challenge, my mom gave me some vicodin which helped for awhile but now at almost midnight my mouth hurts again. Now I go to check out Black Friday ads.

Once is just not enough

So my mom decided that visiting the ER and being admitted to the hospital once this year just wasn't enough.

Yesterday morning around 8:40am she fainted at work. They were able to get her over to the hospital where they checked her heart again. After having returned to a normal rythme just a couple weeks ago it was racing again. So she was put back on the medication to slow it down as well as the blood thinners. She will probably be there for 3 days like last time.

Vegas broke my car!

So the bad part of the Vegas trip was the drive home. Morgan and I got all the way to Baker making great time. Then all of a sudden both lanes of traffic came to a full stop. This was at about 800pm. Our original timeline had us in Victorville around 915pm. However it took us 3 hours to go about 7 and a half miles. Our max speed was 15 for about two min. Otherwise we were going about 2 miles per hour or under.

We finally made it to Victorville to stop at a gas station, use the facilities and find something to eat as we bypassed Baker. It was midnight by this time. When I went to start up the car again, it took two tries to get it going and I figured that it was angry because of the heat and the idiling for so long. Poor Black Beauty. I didn't give it a second thought.

The next morning the three of us (Paul, Morgan and I) got ready to go somewhere... I haven't the faintest idea where and it took 4 tries to see if it would start up. OY. This is so not good. So I back it into the garage incase it needs a jump start when we take it to the Auto Shop.

Now it is Monday morning and I just walked over to the shop to pick up my car. My wallet is much lighter due to needing a new starter. I just keep trying to remind myself that in the last 4 years the only thing we have ever had done for this car was a month after my dad bought it we had to replace the battery. It is still a harsh blow during the summer when I don't get paid again until October 1st.

OWWWWW

I had a filling done the week my mom was in the hospital. Today, it came out! So not a pleasant feeling. Lucky for me I dont HAVE to go to work tomorrow so I made a new dentist appointment for 11am. This was originally a tooth that had broken and he repaired. Now I have an even bigger hole in my mouth than when I started this whole ordeal. Hopefully tomorrow will be the end of this. For now I am off to take some Advil so I can sleep.

Dosage

My mom saw her doctor on Friday and he said her heart rate was still to high so he upped the dosage of the medication that is supposed to it slow down. It was still in the 100's and the doctor wants it down to 90 at least. She is still supposed to have her leg surgery in July. Hopefully it will really help her so she can move without so much pain. Wednesday she gets her blood re-checked. Other than that their is nothing I know. Thank you all for your support and continued prayers.

Home Again

My mom was able to come home. She is on multiple meds and her heart is still screwy. But it isn't as high as previously. She will meet with a cardiologist in 2 weeks. I will be heading down to SD tomorrow afternoon (hopefully) to spend the weekend with her.

A big thank you to Lynn who picked her up and took her home and then went out and got some groceries for her, you are awesome.

So while things aren't back to normal things look to be a bit better than they were. We appreciate all the well wishes, notes of support and the anytime you need me call me's. :*

This post could be long winded

First of all let me say thank you to my dear friends who have said call my anytime, text or e-mail if you need anything.

I appreciate you so very much.

Secondly I will explain for everyone what happened and what is going on.

Monday my mom started having breathing troubles. She went to see her doctor and the doctor was concerned with how fast her heart was beating so he had her put in the back of an ambulance and transported to the ER hospital. Once there she was admitted to the ER and given medication to help slow down her heart rate. It slowed some but not back to a normal range so she was admitted to the hospital. They had her hooked up to the medicine for most of the day on Monday to help slow her heart rate down, she was also hooked up to oxygen and a blood pressure monitor because the medication could have dropped it as a side effect. I sat with her until they kicked me out a half hour after visiting hours were over. Then I went back to the house to feed the kitties and give them some love.

I originally was supposed to go to the dentist down in SD at 5pm on Tuesday but since I was already there I called as soon as I woke up and got it switched to 1145am. As soon as I was done at the dentist it was time to gas up the car and head back to the hospital. My mom finished the medication to bring her heart rate down, it never returned back to normal but it was lower than when she was admitted. Oh, she was also put on a bloodthinner both injections and pills to try and prevent any possible blood clots. For most of the day she was hooked up to an ECG machine to keep track of her heart rate patterns. As long as it doesn't spike back up she should be released around 11am today. I hung around and talked for awhile we watched Dr. Phil and Oprah together and every hour or so people were coming in and out checking different things.

This picture was taken at the end of the day on Tuesday.

She was feeling a bit better as you can see.

I would also like to say thanks to those of you who have kept her in your prayers.