Happy Wednesday
Good Afternoon All!!!
Kathy - I really get P.O.d when medical people treat patients like Crap! He should be reported for being rude and insensitive. Jerk! We have enough issues in life without putting up with Fools! GGRRRRRR!! Congratulations on losing 36 pounds - that's really great!! I didn't realize until just recently that your granddaughter lives with you. I keep kidding with my daughter telling her I want Taylor to live with me Monday thru Friday so she can go to Catholic school here in town. We have three religious schools here in town - in Maura's town there are none so Taylor has to go to public school. I went to Catholic School, as did Maura during grammar school, and I wish Taylor could continue the tradition -- classes are much smaller so students get a lot more attention and there is better discipline. Darn Maura though, she keeps saying no - even though I told her she could come on Wednesdays and spend the night!..No Go. 
Jeannie - good for you for getting your budget approved. Now go spend some money!! 
Jim had his doctor's appt. I get so mad a him sometimes. 
I've mentioned that he is retaining a lot of fluids in his abdomen and legs. He is HUGE. The doctor mentioned doing a stent to remove it, and asked him if he has trouble breathing. Well he does - can't walk 10 feet without breathing hard, and has to sit up in bed a lot because he can't breathe if he lays down flat. Of course he tells the doctor no, he has no problems. So no drain. Jim is always trying to put things off and it aggravates me - we two opposites. Like getting gas for the car -- I get it when I get down to 1/4 tank, if not before. Him, he wants to wait until the warning light comes on and we drive about 40 miles. The doctor is actually transferring him to another doctor in her group. She does infectious diseases/Hep C - the other doctor deals with the cirrhosis. And we'll be seeing a dietitian - the two appts. aren't until June 29th -- and he'll be starting treatment for the Hep C. I guess if the treatment is successful, it will cure the Hep C and stop the cirrhosis. I asked the doctor about Jim's MELD score because that would give me info on his prognosis. She gave me some info and I looked it up when we got home, but she didn't give me enough information. I'll have to get more details from the new doctor in June. Jim never asks questions, and I don't know if that's because he doesn't want to know the answers. Me - I'd want to know.
Well, I'm going to go work on my computer jigsaw.
Prayers and good wishes to all.
Mary
HW: 380 SW: 324 GW: 175
Hello again Mary...I guess if I were you I wouldn't go into the appointments with Jim. If you aren't allowed to speak up then don't go! Someone needs to tell the doctor the truth. Jim isn't going to listen to you anyway. Honey, you need to relax and read a book in the waiting area. Why get all worked up and you can't do anything about it anyway.
I am not telling you this to scare you...I just care very much!! Jim is slowly killing himself. I had a lady friend who did the same thing...she slept sitting up because she couldn't breathe. She fell over in her sleep one night and couldn't get up herself so she died. I am serious this really happened. I think of her whenever you talk about Jim.
I will continue to send prayers for both of you. You are my friend!
God Bless you Mary! 
More love and hugs to you....connie d
Hi Carla and my OFF family:
Well, I was feeling pretty good today until I got up to make this cake for work. Somehow I tweak a muscle in my leg up by my groin, I guess. Don't know what I did. I was just turning to put the water in the cake mix and suddenly I felt this tug in my leg. Really hurts. Sitting here now with an ice pack on it.
I got out this morning and went to the "Aqua Moves" class at the Y; it's a step up from the arthritis class. A little more challenging, but I enjoy it. Can't do it every day. Then I went to look at an apartment ... didn't see the inside but the outside was impressive. While I was getting lost, Richard's mom called me. She told me someone took his backpack with his food stamp card, his meds and his phone. He had called her on someone else's phone. She wanted to know if he had called me. I told her no. She doesn't blame me for his problems ... she just wanted me to know.
Anyway, I finally got to the apartment and didn't get to see the insides because they didn't have any to show. But the complex was really nice ... it's tucked away in a nice parklike setting, carports, washer-dryers, cable and water-sewer is included. But Gary thinks the second bedroom is too small.
That was my day. Now I'm just waiting for my cake to bake. Should be done soon. Then I'll have to let it cool and put it in fridge before frosting it tomorrow.
(Timer buzzer. Had to take the cake out. Smells yummy. Just a cake mix chocolate cake.)
Muscle in my leg still bothers me. I'll have to try some arnicare or biofreeze, see what works.
Hope everyone has a good day. Baseball tonight!
Hello Eileen....sorry about your leg...that is something you didn't need. I hope you can find something that works for the problem.
Sorry...I don't believe Richard and why should his mom. He didn't loose anything...he used it or whatever he does. He just needs more money for drugs/booze and a new phone. I can easily read between the lines. I hope she knows that too. He has used both of you too much already!! What an A$$!!!
That apartment area sounds really nice....sorry Gary thinks the room is too small. Keep looking...there is one out there waiting for you!!
Have a good evening....love and more hugs....connie d
I hope she didn't believe him or give him anything, Connie, but you don't know with moms. I told her I can't give him anymore. I can't have him near me. She understood and said the same. The phone was a free phone that welfare folks get, so it wasn't a fancy phone. But it did have a bunch of minutes and free texts on it. As R doesn't take care of his stuff, I can see where it could have been taken. And he does lie.
Gary needs to talk with me today as his SS will start later now. So I don't know what that will mean. Guess I'll find out.
Good evening Carla and everyone.....
Carla...I am glad you made it home safely. It sounds like you had a great trip and plenty of Vinnie time!
I wi**** was warmer here...62 degrees feels good but I need it warmer then that. 90 sounds good to me!!
As for me...it is almost 6:00 PM. I had a new cleaning fairy. She was awesome. She would like to keep me as a client. I am calling the office tomorrow and put in the request. She knows how to clean like I clean...wooohooo!! Very thorough and doesn't waste time. She also likes to organize. I will finally get my closets all cleaned out and organized. I want to get rid of quite a bit!!!
I just couldn't get up this morning. I was scheduled for grocery shopping at 9:00 AM. I canceled as I didn't really need much anyway. I fell back a sleep which isn't like me at all. I slept until 11:00 AM. I am still so tired I swear I could sleep now.
I am not doing anything more today. I took my walk and put laundry away. That is it for me for this day.
I hope everyone is having a great day!!
Prayers for our wonderful OFF Family and their families. Special prayers for , Vickie and Butch and Eileen. I hope all is good with Butch.
Lots of love and oodles of hugs to all.....connie d
Evening, sweet sistas!
I wasn't going to post because I'm so tired, but then I thought it might help me to sleep better if I get some of this off my chest.
So today I take Butch and Mom both to the doctor. Nice irony there, huh? I'm the one who sick and I take them. LOL! Anyway, y'all remember I mentioned several days ago that I took Mom to the Urgent Care because she had some weird bug bite? That doctor gave her 10 days of antibiotics to take. Well, I was basically gone all last week with Butch in the hospital, and she never mentioned it again, so I kind of forgot about it. Until yesterday. Holy Crap! The "small" red spot is now a BIG red spot. Never seen anything like it. So the doctor looks at it and says is it a fast-growing skin cancer and needs to be surgically removed right away.
Well, hell. My poor mama. She nearly panicked. But then I talked to the doctor some more and while it is a type of skin cancer, it is really probably a benign growth. I can't recall the name. They are almost always benign. But they do grow like wildfire and can reach the size of ping pong balls. They have to be surgically removed and the surgeon has to take quite a bit of flesh around the tumor or it will grow back. So it's going to make a fair sized hole in Mom's thigh.
Well, on top of that, we see the doctor about Butch and we ended up having a really frank talk about his life expectancy, and honestly I just cried and cried. I mean, I know it's coming. Y'all know I'm doing my best to accept it and face it. But Dr. V pretty much expressed the opinion that at this point the chemo is doing more harm than good. **** That's pretty much what I've been thinking, too. I'm just an emotional mess tonight. Butch and I haven't talked about it yet, but I can see him thinking about it. This is awful, you know?
And yes, I'm still sick. Not quite as bad as I was yesterday, but it's still bad enough to make me feel like crap. My throat is better, but my head feels like it's going to explode from the pressure and the headache. Ugh.
Oh, and Christie had to go to ER around 5 a.m. this morning. She has one of those terrible nasty kidney infections. So Mike spend last night there and I guess he's still there tonight. She needed help with the boys. OH! And Budder got sick at day care today and was running a 102 fever.
Lots and lots of bad juju around our house this week.
Anyway, I'm going to bed. I know I'm not supposed to take Advil, but I just took two. I just can't take another minute of this damn headache. If my stomach explodes, well, at least they'll put me in the hospital and I can rest, huh?
Love you all so much! Thanks for listening!
Vickie
Hello my sweet, sweet Vickie....I am so sorry...how can all this just keep happening.....honey I hope the Advil helps your headache. You can take it occasionally just not all the time. You will be fine. Just be very sure that you eat something with it.
You are still sick....I feel so bad. I wish I was there to help with at least your mom. What next....fast growing skin cancer....oh my!! I can see why she is panicked. CANCER is a MONSTER!!! So when is her surgery scheduled? I will be praying hard for her too!!
I am so horribly sad for Butch that the chemo is doing more harm then good. I think a good cry is what you needed. Also, the doctor speaking about it with both of you had to be done. Now you both know the situation. You have been so brave and have been so good to him. No doubt at all how much you love each other.
Honey...you can't do all of this alone. You have been so strong for so long. I am just heartsick for both of you. You have handled this the very best you could...way better then many others have in this situation. I so much want to help you. I guess it is prayers and all the love and hugs I can send your way!
I am praying for Christie and hopes that the kidney infection clears up soon. As for Mike just let it go. There isn't anything you can do at this point. At least he is there for the boys.
I am going to say some more prayers....you know how much I love you and care. I am ALWAYS here for you!! 24/7!!
Love and gentle hugs....connie d
Greetings Carla and OFF Sisters,
I am finally home for the night after a long, busy day. It was just go, go, go. First, I went to play with Frankie for an hour this morning, because there was some sort of outdoor sports activity at the school. If it hadn't been so freaking cold all day, I would have taken him to the school to watch. Poor Colleen came home and her hands were numb. It was 50 degrees, no sun, and damp. Arthritis has been killing me for days.
I came home for about 30 minutes, then out the door to pick up a friend. She needed to go into town to get a shot in her back, and they used sedation, so she needed me to drive her. Because it was done at a hospital it too about two hours. I don't get sedation, and my doc has an OR in the pain center in his office, so I'm in and out of there in about an hour, or so. She was hungry so we stopped at a Subway and grabbed a very late lunch. Diane is very lonely, lives with her Mom, and doesn't own a car. She has been on SSI, and only receives $700 a month. We have plans to go see a Detroit Tigers game. I root for them too, coz they're in the American league, and hardly ever play my Phillies. Plus, I just love baseball, and visiting different ballparks.
Got home just in time to go back out again. Went to meet a Mom who let her kids come to our children's program with a woman from my church. Throughout the year I learned the kids, who were in my group, had been in foster care for a few years because their Dad was physically abusive. I knew the kids were troubled because of their reactions during games in the gym. So, I asked my friend who drove them to take me to meet the parents. I am so glad that I did. Words can't describe how my heart broke when I saw the condition of the mobile home they lived in. Plus, their living room set up. As I got to know Mom, I learned she has a 10 year old son her adoptive parents have custody of, and will not let her have any contact with, not even pictures. I invited her to bring the kids to church and Sunday School. I also asked her to let the kids come to VBS this summer, as well as to our church parking lot in August, for free kids games and food during Perry Fest. There's a huge parade in town, and our church is at the end of the parade route. We host the entire town for kids games, hot dogs, popcorn, and cotton candy, all free.
Well, must scoot. Brain just stopped working.
Love and Hugs,
Trish
Albert Schweitzer
