~Whats Happening Saturday?~(For Jan)

 

Dear MO Peeps~

I was so happy to get on here and see that Bel is on the Losers Bench with us-and that Jan is home-double baby circle dance going on here!!! Woo-Hoo!!~Lets continue to pray for them for speedy and uneventful recoveries!! Also-please remember Vesta who is recovering as well-AND for her sister, who is in the hospital and had coded out the night before. Then, Mel can use prayer too-I will explain in this post. We have awesome prayer warriors here-so we know prayer will help out.

Well, I hope everyone had a better day than I did! The pain management doctor was a JOKE....AND he had the bedside manner of a pissant (which is always ackward to me since I am a people person and like to talk-I get really nervous)...anyway-he wanted to put me back on the Oxys-where I left off 2 yrs ago-and it was ONLY gonna cost me $460 cash-right outta my pocket. Explained to him 2 things-first-It was way too hard to go off that stuff. Took me 2 months-and I was told I would HAVE TO be admitted to the hospital and put on methodone while I was coming off of it (due to dosage and length of time on it, which was 6 yrs) and I proved them wrong. I did it-I sure dont want to go through that again when I have every intention of having my surgery as soon as my medicare goes into effect, and then-there is NO WAY I am taking that kind of money out of my household income, I KNOW we dont have that much spare money each month! He said, well, if your spend-down is that high, you must have a decent income-and I said, well-my husband makes good money-but that we have bills and 4 children to raise and asked IF HE had 4 children and if HE KNEW how expensive they are to raise? So-he kinda looked put out-Like, well, WHY are you here? I said-my ortho surgeon sent me to you so you could help me until I have surgery with pain control. He told me that he normally gives injections and the pain management medicine. Told him the ortho doc has done all the shots-they dont work and I wasnt going to waste my money or his time having any more-its a waste of money. Maybe thats why he got so upset-He is a cash only office-cash for the visit, and then cash for the injections and the pills he gives out. Then he offers to manipulate me. He only charges $35 for that. Nope, dont want that either-asked if he had gone over my films or the dvd the ortho sent of my MRI-said he would review them later-WHAT? So-he has NO CLUE when he walks in even, how bad off I am? So-he puts me on Ultram (Tramadol) for maintenance-and then he puts me on Flexiril twice a day and is keeping me on the percocet. I had to leave his office to go to the bank because they didnt accept bank cards/credit cards-cash or checks only-and I was short $10 and didnt have Mikes check book with me. So-I go to the bank-I go back to the dr ofc-FINALLY get into a room after 2 freaking hours of waiting-because they take walk in patients-and I figured since I was an initial appt pt-that I would get MY TIME before the walk ins-NOPE...They go in order and so 4 pm rolls around and I am finally in a room! I was so disappointed. He did say that IF this wasnt working for me, when I go next month to get my refills-that he would "tweek" my pills for me! Whatever-I guess I will just live with it-since he isnt doing anything any differently for me. I was taking Flexiril anyway-but my PCP was only giving me one a day and he tweeked that to twice-so he filled it for double and gv me refills on that. His office staff was just as evasive as he was. The whole thing was a disaster! He did say that taking off that much weight was good-However-when I said 227# he turned and looked at me-and said-"Dont you mean 127#?" and I said NO-I MEAN 227# and promptly took out my photo album I carry in my purse and PROVED IT to him, since he wasnt believing me. He sat there going WOW, thats amazing...THEN, he says-well, there is a drawback to that too-you cant be on any anti-inflammatorys and thats what YOU NEED right now. Said-well, I may NEED it, but I CANT HAVE THEM. He then asked why I was going to Carthage twice a month to pick up a script that I could get filled just once a month? I said I dont know WHY they did it like that-but if you can fill it for the month, that would be great-and he said-well, not that its THAT FAR of a drive-and I said-well, it cost me $9 each time I come to Carthage and its pretty inconvienent to have to come twice a month.....Ok-so I am off that soapbox. Just a little disappointed in the whole deal and the way it all went.

The kids informed me in the morning that they only had a half day-so I picked them up. Stopped and put $20 in the gas tank-stopped at Mels-and ALL the kids stayed. Jon played with Claire-Darrel was playing with the baby and Stephanie helped Mel wrap presents. Im not sure where Terry was-but I think Mel had him running errands. So-after my appt-I dropped my scripts off at Walmart-went and got the kids, went back to walmart to pick up the scripts (Man, were they ever swamped in the pharmacy) and then headed straight to Joplin to work. I am going in early to make my hours up today so I am doing 12 hours. Need the money!! Between the dentist and the meds he gave me and yesterday-I have spent over $200 in a week-if it werent for that, I wouldnt be going in for that long. They dont have ANYONE else clerking right now either. I told them that I would pull an extra shift during the wee****il they get someone else if they needed/wanted me to. They are going to be talking to the owner and getting back to me.

So-Mike is going to take me to town and drop me off-and then I am going to get all my Christmas cards done and try to finish Mikes quilt I am working on. Wish me luck-LOL. I need it.

Before I get to the responses-I would like to ask for prayer for Mel and her mom please. Mel is having a really bad time with the meds the surgeon put her on. They are giving her severe migraines for 4 hrs at a time and nothing is working. I thought maybe they would go away after her body adjusted to the meds-but now I am thinking she wont be able to stay on them. I hope she doesnt get mad at me-but the back surgeon said he needs to put a couple of rods in her back-BUT-they were going to wait until she had her hernias repaired and we are hoping that they can get a plastic surgeon to do that tummy tuck at the same time-so that the apron wont be pulling on her anymore-anyhow-so she does have some pretty big medical problems and can use all the prayer you can send her way-the apron pulling on her back isnt good either-so if she can get all that taken care of, the back surgery recovery will be alot better for her. I joked and told her that maybe they would put us in the same room.....I am going to be able to see that surgeon when my medicare becomes effective-and he is suppose to be awesome. My ortho surgeons office said they will refer me in February-and to call them then-and to make my appt then, since he is a very busy doctor, but my ortho says he is one of the best and everyone really likes him! He only does the back surgeries-and he is one of the best. I am so glad he came to this area!!!

**Debbie D-LONG TIME, NO SEE!!! It was good to see you on the board. I have missed you!! Your a better person than I-I dont think I could handle 24 2nd graders, thats for sure!! Are you substituting while waiting for a permanent full time teaching position or just want to sub? Teaching jobs are so limited in our area-that a lot of teachers take the substitute positions so they can get some experience when something finally does open up around here. Im not trying to be nosey-well, heck-I guess it is-I was just curious...I hope that the ones that are trying your patience give up soon and realize your a good teacher!!!

Your DH sounds like a doll~ Thanks for the compliment about the posting-Im happy to do it for her. I dont think anyone really realizes how much time and effort Jan puts into this daily post! Its something she does because she wants to-but it can get time consuming!! I sure miss her seeing HER on here though!! I am going to do a seperate post to thank her when she gets back for all the time and effort she puts into making sure we all stay connected. She is such a special lady-and I know we all love and respect her! Have a good weekend Debbie-and keep coming in and keeping us posted, we sure miss you when your gone!!

**Vesta-Man, you sure were put through the wringer-werent you? I am so sorry you have had such a rough time of it. We will definitely keep you in our prayers-along with your sister!! PLEASE keep us posted and let us know how your sister is. We love you and if you need anything, let us know. NOW GET BETTER!!! PLEASE!!! Have you had your knee done yet? When are you having that done?

**Traci-I was sorry to hear about your friend having to have a c-section, but at least she has a healthy baby girl. I also have a Magen-only I spelled mine Megan. I call her Meggie most of the time though. I love it when baby girls have a lot of hair and you can put those cute little barrets in their hair and not have to KY jelly it to their heads-LOL....I am glad she is healthy. Isnt it wonderful and a blessing to hold those little miracles and love on them? I love seeing Mel-because I can cuddle with Adrian, and he is such a happy baby now-and full of smiles....Those big old gummy smiles-theres nothing like it!!!

Where is everyone else? I hope everyone is okay and that your roads didnt get too bad-it drizzled and rained for most of the day and into the night-but its suppose to be 41 today-and its not suppose to be below freezing here until Sunday night and Monday-so maybe the storm will either miss us or it wont be here for a couple of days. I told the boys IF the storm wasnt here yet-we would go shopping Sunday for their Christmas presents for everyone. That should be fun!!! Well, I am going to get off here and go talk to my hubby and have some coffee. Your all in my thoughts and prayers and please take care and be safe if you are in the winter storm area!! Love, Janet

Morning everyone Goodness Janet - what an ordeal at the pain management doc.  Sounds like a total waste of your time and money.  So sorry!  A busy day here.  Hubby is working so the kiddos and I are going to do a little cleaning around the house and make some Christmas treats today.  :D  Have a great day everyone!! 

Good Morning, Janet & MO Peeps: It is freezing rain here this morning.  We were going to drive to Jefferson City to see my dh stepdad and decided against it.  I'm hoping I can get my Christmas Cards addressed and get my first annual Christmas letter done.  I need to go to Walmart and get some Christmas letterhead.  DH and I did quite a bit of Christmas Shopping last night.  I think I'm just about done.  I just informed my hubby that we need to start wrapping.  He HATES wrapping presents.  I'm a little concerned about our new poodle pup.  She loves paper and I'm worried she may get into the presents.  We will see.   My 2nd day subbing went really well.  I enjoyed it.  No, I am not planning on teaching full-time.  I only have an Associates of Arts Degree so I wouldn't be able to. In Kansas you can apply for your Emergency Teaching Certificate if you have at least 65 credit hours and you submit to a background check.   I don't believe I would be able to work full time.   One or two days a week is fine with me.  Plus I like being able to chose which assignments I want to do.  The extra money will help with some medical bills and Christmas expense. I agree with you about Jan.  It does take a lot of time and effort to do the daily thread and Jan does it because she wants to and she genuinely cares about all of us.  She really is a special lady!  I wish I lived closer we could all visit in person more than once a year! I hope everyone is doing well and taking care of themselves this icy Saturday morning. Love, Debbie D. 

hello all you sweet people. You really make me feel good. My knee is swollen tonight, guess i have been pushing it a little bit but can walk with the walker really good now if i let it get straightened out first.Iwill be at the COF meeting on the 17th so hopefully i will be well by then. I weighted before i went to sugery and weighed 157 now weight 170 oh my god that isnt good but im sure it will come off as soon as it quits swelling and i get all the excess fluids out of my body.

Love all of you and HUGS AND BLESSINGS.

JAN COOK

Janet, Sorry to hear about your awful experience at the pain managemet Dr.  It sounds like he is just a pill pusher out for some quick cash.  Don't you hate it when some Dr's act like they are doing you a favor for seeing you.  they seem to forget they are being paid very well for their services.  I get so frustrated with Dr.s especially ones with no bed side manner.  or that just wants to push pain pills.  I will keep praying for all of those in need.  it sounds like Vesta has had a really rough go of it lately. I was happy to see Jan was home and doing well.  hope she doesn't try to over do it.  She seems like she might want to do too much to soon. Tracy,   wanted to ask you about those belly bands that you make for your dogs How do you make them ?  My grandson (almost 2) has a male Maltese & he tries to mark everything. Please remember to pray for me on Monday when I have surgery and remember Jane on Wednesday when she has her wls. Janet.  

Hi Janet Here's a link to see the Belly Bands I made (so you can get a visual).  First, I measured about the dogs middle and added about 2-3 inches to that measurement to allow for serging and the overlap needed.  Then,  I took a prefold cloth diaper and cut the thinner outer side off and just used that thicker absorbent middle part.  I cut a piece of cotton blend fabric for the outer part in prints that I liked.  This is the part that's seen, so make it as cute as you want.    I cut it just slightly larger than the cloth diaper part, just to make sure that when I serged the edges, that I caught all layers of fabric.  Then I serged the cloth diaper section and the decorative top layer together.  Then I sewed on wide velcro as the closure.  That's it!  Now you can get really fancy and do enclosed seams and sew right sides together, leave and opening, turn right side out, then whip stitch it closed and then top stitch to hold it in place.  BUT, serging is much easier and faster - so that's what I did.  I thought they turned out very well.  TIP:  On one of my dogs, he was a little pudgy and the length of the cloth diaper wasn't quite long enough to go around his middle.  So what I did was to take the thinner side pieces that I trimmed off, folded those in half (or in half again - depending on how much length I needed) and serged that together and then sewed it on the ends of the thicker absorbent part of the diaper to make one longer piece as long as I needed it to go around the dog's middle.   So don't throw away your side scrap pieces - as you can use those, folded/doubled to add length for bigger dogs.  Hope that helps ya! 

 Hi Everyone, I'm hoping today will go a little slower then the rest of the week has, seem's like I've been on a none stop run all week, and next week doesn't look much slower either.   My sleep study went ok. I didn't think I slept that good, but the tech did. I got a call after I got home and they said they would put in for insurance approval for my cpap machine and that it could take up to a month.   I'm still dancing around about my psych eval being approved, and my first consult. It seem's like it's really going to happen now.  I've been worried every time we all leave the house about our tree and Tiff's dog, but so far so good. She hasn't even really acted like she wanted to mess with it. The cat on the other hand doesn't get far from it. LOL She look's as if we've made her dream come true. LOL She set's on the table next to it all the time and will lean over every now and then and lick on it. I just hope she doesn't get real brave and decided to jump in.  I'm hoping this ice storm they keep talking about misses us all together, I have to take Tiff to the doctor in Springfield and Kala to OTC Tuesday, and I sure don't want to drive in a mess like that. Plus everyone know's how I feel about driving on slick road's, it just doesn't happen.  Janet Hun you are doing such a good job filling in for Jan. I don't alway's have a chance to post everyday, but I do try and read every day. Good Job!! I'm so sorry you had such a bad time at the pain management. I really think some doctor's forget what they are there for and just start worring about making the almighty dollar.  I've been doing alot of thinking about you and Steph and hope thing's are going good for you both. Is she still keeping her grade's up and talking to you? I keep my finger's crossed for her at all time's.  I talked to Barbara yesterday and she is sounding better, but please keep her in prayer. I know her and her family will have such a hard time with her mom not being here for the holiday's. I hope Everyone has a Blessed day.

Hey OH Board, thought I'd pop in to say hi. I'm hoping the roads aren't bad for my Tuesday trip to St. Louis.Surgery day Wed. !! I'm glad I took the first spot (9:00am), so I can get up and around quick. I'm not nervous yet. I already know that's gonna happen in the place where they start the IV's and get ready to wheel me in the operating room. They better dose me up good with something before I get there !!LOL Everyone take care.I'll say prayers for all who want it. Janet...one day all this crap will be over with and you'll look back and wonder how you ever made it through all of it. You're  a tough one like me. Welcome home Jan and Belanna. Connie

Traci, thank you!!! it is a big help!!! Janet