Thursday Checking In

Good Afternoon Sweet Friends,

It's almost 12:30, and nobody has posted the thread yet.

Be right back.

I was out the door first thing to go to the pain clinic for two sets of shots.  I don't do sedation, because the procedure is about fifteen minutes, and I endured longer labors without drugs.  When I got home I had to clean up after Utley, because I was in such a rush to get to my appointment on time I forgot to put him out to go potty.  My bad.

I have tidying to do.  Then, this afternoon, I have an appointment for a haircut.  It's amazing how grungy my hair looks four weeks after it's cut.  

Mom is decompensating, and Eileen is going to get her to take her home with her.  I may be making a trip out there to help with the fact that Eileen returns to work on Tuesday, and Mom's follow up appointment with the psychiatrist is Wednesday.  I hope to take Sean, to help with the driving.  Mom lives two hours from Eileen.  Eileen lives in the house we grew up in, and Mom moved back to her home town in 1991.  Eileen and I think she needs to be hospitalized.  She may end up in one yet.

Tonight I may go to a social with the women from church.  Trent's Aunt Barb is hosting a cooking social in her home.  She hosted the huge family Christmas supper with all of Trent's family.  Her home is so beautiful she could teach Martha Stewart a thing or two.

Thinking of Butch and Vickie.  Praying for Michael and his family.  Please pray for Mom and Eileen.  I feel bad that she is stuck with primary responsibility for Mom.

Love and Hugs,

Trish

Good morning Trish and everyone.....

Trish....glad you got your shots today...that should help greatly with the pain. I wish the shots lasted longer!!

Yes, you should go to the social tonight, you will even have a fresh haircut!! Barb's house sounds lovely. I am sure her cooking is just as great!!  That would be a fun time! 

I also continue to pray for Butch and Vickie. I also send prayers for Micheal and his family as they grieve the loss of his grandma. I love you Vickie!!!!!  

I am sorry about your mom. I think she may be ready for a new place to live or go into the hospital. She needs more care all the time. She shouldn't be alone. I am sending prayers for you, your mom and sister. 

As for me....it is 1:30  and I just finished lunch. I had turkey, which was in a gravy. I scraped off all the gravy I could. I also had steamed broccoli and a small amount of fruit salad(apples, grapes,cranberries and pecans). I love pecans!!! 

I went for one walk and will do another later. I am in pain because of this darn cold weather. Right now it is a whole 4 degrees!!! I promised my doctor I would take 2 walks a day no matter how far I can go. I will keep that promise!!

I need to do a couple small loads of laundry. There are still people washing so I will wait until tomorrow. My cleaning lady usually does it but we had too many errands to do yesterday. She still got most of the cleaning done. She is amazing!! 

Wishing you all a great day!!

Prayers for our awesome OFF Family and their families too.

Lots of love   and many hugs to all   .....connie d

Hi Trish and my OFF family:

Getting on here late. I got up and out of bed at 8 a.m. ... set my alarm and got up, had coffee and breakfast, then went to the Y and did the arthritis class, and then walked and swam for 15 minutes. Felt good but tired. Now I've an itchy nose, like I want to sneeze all the time. After the workout, I came home and had leftover crab alfredo and a salad. I had a sensible portion of pasta; Richard had a whole big portion (the whole Rubbermaid thing I had put the pasta in ... it was huge! ... I would have gotten five meals out of that!) 

So now back to work. Doing wire tonight (scanning the wire for the best stories... but we don't have a lot of space, so there's not much to do). 

Trish, your mom sounds a lot like my mom. We just told my mom this was the way it was going to be ... she was going in a home. And now, it seems to be OK. She likes the place we found for her. She sounds happy, my brother says. I think we should have done it a year ago. Anyway, good luck on your end. I know what we went through with my mom.

Everyone have a good evening. Vickie, lots of hugs. Have a glass of wine (or whatever) and give yourself a break. Do something you enjoy. 

Hi Eileen....you sure were active at the YMCA today...good for you! 

Nose itches....allergies??? I hope it feels better soon!

The crab dinner leftovers must have been great if Richard ate that much!! He will be packing on the pounds if he keeps eating like that!! I am glad you got a second helping!

Hope work goes well for you tonight. I am going to bed!

Love and hugs...connie d

Hi there,

I need a haircut so bad!!!! Hopefully Liz will find time to cut it this weekend!!! I fly out tomorrow morning!!!

I checked into the flight this morning and printed my boarding pass and put it in my bag.

Its kind of cold here today too. Around 62 and sunny.

Nothing else going on!

Carla

Afternoon OFF family....

So much going on for you all...Thoughts and Prayers!!!! HUGSSSSSSSSS also!!! Trish if you are planning on going THIS weekend...they are talking about a MAJOR storm hitting!!! Please be careful!!!!

Well love bunny and sugar plum were just in to get his mail...BARF!!!!!!!! She had to clear her throat to let me "know" she was in there with him...like I can't SEE????  No news on the situation yet...GRRRR

Temps are going down here and man its COLD!!!!!! Got about 2 inches of snow today and its blowing around also. BRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!

Made the Beef Stew for tomorrow's Bingo...now hope tenants come because of the COLD!!! Also we (Rick and myself) sure are not hungry for more stew at all as we just had some last week!!! LOL So if small crowd comes or nobody...I guess I will give it to Pat. Atleast I know he will eat it...lol

So much going on TOMORROW and not enough TIME to do it all...sighs.....Bingo, new tenant moving in other odds and ends to do...pay day...chiro dr. Lots of running around to do and also now need to shop for a over the range hood. IF petty cash comes. No wonder my hair is turning gray!!!

Sooooo now I need to figure out what to have for supper tonight. Hmmmmm seems like we always have the same things all the time.  Sink is full of dirty dishes...guess it is MY turn...oh well. Guess we have take out lol!!!

Well better go do something before he yells at me...

Thoughts and Prayers for ALL that need them!!!

HUGSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Hi Judy...I can't believe that Michael and his "something" came in to get his mail together. What is she his body guard now...LOL!! I still wonder what he had to talk to your boss about. I hope for your sake they are gone soon!! 

Take out sounds good!! Hope you got the dishes done!!

I am sorry you will be getting more snow and freezing temps. We have the horrible freezing cold but no snow yet. 

Tony came over and took me to get groceries. Brrrrrr!! That wind was nasty. He always leaves me of at the grocery store door. He helps me shop and then bags the groceries. He takes the groceries to the car and then picks me up at the door again. He brings the groceries in and helps put them away. He is helpful like that. He helped me make dinner and did the dishes. I always feed him after he does all that. He finally paid me back the money he owed me...YAY!!

I hope people come out for Bingo tomorrow. Beef stew should bring them out!! You can always freeze the left over stew.  I have done that many times.

It sounds like you have a busy day tomorrow!! I hope it all goes well.

Love you....HUGS....connie d

Hello sistas,

Man, could I ever use a hug right now!  This has been the most horrible day!  OMG.  I feel about as fragile as a soap bubble right now.  Just one more little "tap" and I'm liable to just disintegrate!

So, this was to be our longest day at MDA of the whole two weeks.  So many appointments and labs and doctors today.  We had to get up extra early and fight the DAMN HOUSTON TRAFFIC and get to MDA at 8 a.m.  One of the first things I said this morning was, "don't let me forget your pills!"  

I got his pills for 8 a.m. all packed up in a little ziploc bag and put them in my purse.  Then when we got to MDA and got to the first waiting room, I pulled out a bottled water and reached for his pills, but they were there!  They weren't ANYWHERE!  

All I had in my purse was his emergency break through pain pills, so he took one of those, but the pain was already ramping up.  It just got worse and worse.  And worse.  I was beside myself because I KNEW I packed those pills.  I thought maybe they fell out in the car, but nope.  Finally around 11 a.m. I took him back to supportive care and asked if the doctor could write a prescription for just 1 pain pill for him.  OMG.  You would have thought we were drug addicts trying to get a "fix".  I had to explain and explain what happened-and really, I didn't even KNOW what happened.  I just knew we didn't have the pills with us.  Finally got the damn Rx, took it upstairs to the pharmacy and they said it would be 45 mins to fill it.  REALLY???  Finally got the pill around 12:15 and gave it to Butch, who by then was just in agony.  It takes an hour for the extended release pill to kick in.  Last appointment was at 1:30 today, but we just had to walk out of it.  The poor man had reached the absolute limits of his endurance.  I FELT LIKE ****!!!  He hurt all day because of something I did--or didn't do, as the case may be.

Finally got him back to Karen's house and when we walked in, there were the damn pills on the entry way floor.  I guess they fell out of my purse before we ever even got out the door this morning.  

So, he's in bed now and he's finally starting to feel a bit of relief, but it's been a horrible day for him.  I cried and cried driving home.  I just couldn't help it.  He was in such pain and it was all my fault.

I don't think I can do this anymore.  I just can't seem to do anything right for him.  I try and I try, but he's not getting any better, and then i do something stupid and he feels even worse.  And he never says a word of reproach to me, which makes me feel even more terrible.  

Between Butch's pain levels today and the god-awful Houston traffic, I just feel like giving up.  I think I came close to having a mini-breakdown today.  I certainly feel like a total failure as a care giver today.  And honestly, I don't think I can take one more bout of rush hour traffic.  I just have the shakes from it all.

Sorry to vent like this, but I'm feeling very overwhelmed.  I would like nothing more than to break down and cry and cry, but I can't do that.  I know I can't indulge in histrionics right now.  Butch needs me too much.  But I can at least come here and tell y'all.  THIS SUCKS!!!

I'm going to lie down and try to fall asleep.  Maybe a nap will help me regain some perspective.  Lord knows I'm hardly sleeping at all at night.  I will be so glad when we can go home tomorrow.  I need my own bed.

Sorry to be such a bummer today.  Love you all,

Vickie, 

Sweetie, give yourself a break.  It sucks that the pills fell out of your purse.  It was an honest mistake.  Please don't beat yourself up.  You don't deserve it.  

Please, call me, or Connie, if you need a shoulder to cry on.  Crying can be therapeutic.  It releases the tension that builds up in our bodies during stress.  

I hope you are able to find some respite care.  Caregivers need a break.  That includes you.

I love you.  We love you.  Let yourself have a good cry.  It can help you.

Love,

Trish