There’s really not much to talk about when all I do is sit on the couch… I had a lovely Thanksgiving over at my parents’ house. I think the infection is gone, although where the doc re-opened the incision is healing kinda funny. I’ll take a picture when Jen gets home, or if I can find the sidekick. Ok, the infection’s not gone, it’s moved to my sinuses, but I’m not really worried about that because I’m on really good antibiotics.\
I have a new goal. It’s to be walking without crutches, cane or boot before I go to France at the end of February. At the rate I’m going, I’m not sure how easy this goal is going to be to reach, but I’m going to do it. I don’t want to be hobbled for that trip or SxSW the week after I get back. I probably won’t be playing kickball next year, but I don’t want to miss out on anything because I’m gimpy.\
Jen and the boys get home on Tuesday, and then I’m sure you’ll get a ton of Hawaii pictures and stories. I’ve talked to Max on the phone a couple times, and I think I’m going to try to get him to write some too.\
I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Hopefully, it’ll be all good news, because I’m tired of the other kind.
Category: family
-
A Little Update
-
Pre-Breakfast Gross Out
I slept from 10:00 PM until 1:30 AM, and have been up trying to get comfortable ever since. There’s an uncomfortable moment any night I don’t sleep where I resign myself to being awake. It usually happens around 5:30. It’s a horrible feeling, being exhausted, but knowing that I’ve just made the decision to get up anyway and do something (usually that involves checking e-mail and finding something to eat).\
Last night (this morning?) while I was sitting there trying to ignore the stinging in my foot, I realized I forgot to tell you the grossest part about yesterday’s trip to the doctor. Since my foot’s infected and the previous antibiotic wasn’t doing the job, they wanted to do a culture (stop reading now if you’re eating or feeling squeamish). You know how they do a culture on a surgical wound? They slice it open and jab two giant q-tips in the wound. I had no idea a q-tip could go so far into my foot without me passing out (this is where Dr. Wilson found the “live nerve” he didn’t kill off during surgery).\
And an added bonus, this morning when I went to change the dressing, it was stuck to the incision so I got to open it all back up again. Hooray for mornings!! Hooray for gore!! Hooray for stinging pain that never goes away!! Hooray for sleeping on the couch!! Hooray for pop-tarts!! Hooray for Dr. Pepper!! Hooray for crutches!!\
Hooray, hooray… yeah. -
Vicious Cycle
First, there was the contamination. Now, it’s an “infection”. I have a fever, I have puss. I have new antibiotics, cultures at the lab, incredible pain that’s making me watch the clock (two hours until I get to take more pain killers), and a slowly creeping disdain for my right foot.\
I got to watch Dr. Wilson cut into my foot today, which once I got over the weirdness of seeing it happening and watching the blood come pouring out, it was kind of cool. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be, although the numbing stuff they put on it didn’t quite do the job.\
It just feels like moving backwards. I was progressing. The steri-strips were off, and I thought things were healing. And then, the puss, the red, the white… it all came back, and here I am again with an open wound (no staples this time, it’s just sitting there under 8 layers of gauze – oozing).\
I’m ready to walk again. I’m actually longing for the stupid black boot. My foot is still too swollen to fit in the boot, which means no walking. It means more crutching (my biceps and abs are getting a workout – the one positive I can think of). It means more helplessness. It means creating ways to carry things from the fridge to the couch (under the chin, in the pockets, held in a grocery bags, etc).\
I’m sorry, there are good things happening. I think. The family’s having a great time in Hawaii (look forward to pictures… be grateful I don’t have a camera in the house). Yeah, that’s about it.\
update – Feeling blood seeping out of my foot feels really really gross. -
Trade-Offs
When you sleep for thirteen hours, that means you miss three doses of pain medication. That probably means you’ll wake up in a good deal of pain (probably because you moved wrong and woke up swallowing a scream). But, part of you is happy and shocked that you got more than two hours of sleep at one time.\
Trade-offs, man, trade-offs. -
Note To Self
Falling down hurts. Falling down hurts even worse when you’re on crutches and have a bum foot.\
I wish I could sleep.\
I wish this pain pill would kick in.\
That is all. -
Max and Brian stats
As of today:\
Maxwell, age 6 yrs, is 48 1/2 inches tall and 53 lbs.\
Brian, age 18 mos, is 35 inches tall and 30 1/2 lbs.\
All of these stats are at or above the 90th %. No wonder my back hurts. -
Life update
My longest post ever-\
Kevin’s doctor was about to receive the doctor of year award from us, when two bad things almost happened. Before surgery, the nurse came in to review K’s case. Then the anesthesiologist came in to review K’s case. K reminded them that he is allergic to penicillan and sulpha. Then the dr came in. His normal MO is to give antiobiotics during the surgery and a prescription to take home for the recovery period, just to be safe. The dr handed me the scripts, and by this point K ws getting loopy because of his first narcotic, so I double checked with the dr that neither of the scripts would react badly with what the anesthesiologist already gave K or with his allergy. The dr looked at K’s chart and it said, “No allergies.” Huh? Well, good thing I was there. The dr decided to skip the second antibiotics since it was precautionary and most antibiotics involve either penicillan or sulpha. By the 2nd follow up, K had developed a “bacterial contamination” and he was sent home with a script. The incision was bloody and green pussy. Gross. Too bad K didn’t have has camera with him this time. So, I went to fill the script and double checked with the pharmacist about K’s allergies. She said that the antiobiotic had two ingredients, one of which was penicillan. We talked about it a bit, what his reaction may be like, etc. She asked if I still wanted it. And I said yes. (Now I know that I misunderstood what she was telling me. But oh well.) I came home and told K. He said that at the dr appointement, the dr made sure that he was allergic to sulpha but never mentioned penicillan and I wasn’t there to double check, drat. So, the next day K called the dr and we got the correct scrpit this time. But I am out my \$20 co pay for the penicillan.\
Max, had his PALS assessment at kindergarten where the teacher attempts to predict how well/easily he will learn to read. Which is totally a moot point, because he is already reading. He brings home library books from the 4th grade level, but can probably read at an 8th grade level. (BTW, he is self-taught. I claim no success in this, because I didn’t “teach” him to read.) Anyway, during the fall of kindergarten, the teacher hopes that students get a 28. My son scored a 94. She also gave him an improptu math test. He did really well and only missed 2×3=? He knew it was a multiplication problem, but didn’t know how to do it. I think it is because the way it was presented. If you ask him verbally,”What are three twos?” he’ll say “six.” He is the brightest in the class and his teacher makes a seperate lesson plan for him and two others. She said it is really unusual to have three kids so bright in one class. But this is a good thing, cuz they have a peer group and can work together. She also asked the gifted teacher to spend extra time with Max. So, yay!\
Brian was assessed today by the county to see if he qualified for walking therapy. (He was barely walking at 16 months- like only 1 or 2 steps at a time, which is unusual.) He recently had a burst of ability and is not eligible, meaning he is not delayed by 25% or more. So that is good. He is delayed some, but he is on his way. He is also delayed in the speech area. If he isn’t speaking a few words by New Year, I should have him reevaluated. But today, he signed “more” to the therapist, so I feel really validated in my signing efforts. The therapist also said that he is very bright and charming and can communicate, he just doesn’t use spoken words. Max literally could only say “wow” and “uh oh” by his second birthday. He was reading before speaking. How weird is that? (And I know he was reading this early because he would sit at the computer and type words.) We put him in speech therapy and within 4 months, he was where he was supposed to be. So, I am not worried about Brian being a slow speaker. And honestly, Brian’s silence is kind of nice after seeing how chatty cousin Samantha is.\
As for me, I am getting ready for the Hawaii trip. I need to buy stuff for the 15 hour trip and accessories for when we get there (like video tapes). I need to pack clothes and other stuff. I need to wash some of the stuff I want to pack. I would like to clean up the house so it is clean when I get home. I need to prep the house so Kevin can survive. I feel like I have a million small things to do, yet I only get a few things done each day. Ack, time is running out. And on a totally selfish note: I am tired of Kevin being limpy and the kids are driving me crazy.\
Hey, good news. The new Dulles area middle school was approved in yesterday’s election. That is the school that Max will go to, if it is built in time. I meant to bug the in-laws about voting for it, but it passed even without me bugging them. So yay!\
And my new favorite phrase: Don’t you blame me. Don’t you dare blame me! (For those not in the know, it’s from a tv show.) -
Contamination
I have bacterial contamination!! No, it’s not an infection, it’s “contamination”. Well, that’s what Dr. Wilson says, and boy is it pretty. Lucky for you, I forgot to bring the camera. Stupid, stupid, stupid! The green discharge around the bloody staples, bruises and redness was impressive. I get to take a really good antibiotic for a while to make sure it doesn’t turn into staph, and keep my foot elevated for another week (although the bandage is getting progressively smaller).\
In other news, my sleep schedule is completely out of whack, thanks to the pain pills. I usually sleep from 5:30pm-6:30pm, sometimes until 8. Then, from 3:30pm-7pm when everyone else gets up. Sometimes, it’s much later, like today, I slept from 4am until almost noon.\
It’s really weird to be awake in the middle of the night. The feeds all go to sleep and nothing gets updated except Flickr.\
Sorry I forgot my camera… it was really impressive. It’s naptime! -
Old Pictures – King of TP
I was going through old pictures in iPhoto trying to organize the chaos (over 9,000 pictures from the last five years, only the last two years in categories) and I found these.\
Max had just turned four (I think) and got into the toilet paper stash. He created snow, a sandbox, a hat, and I got a couple shots of him mid-revel. I love this one so much, I can’t even express it. -
Tips For The Couch-Bound
Stuck on the couch with a laptop? Tired of your trackpad? ‘\
I have a little Kensington optical mouse I bought for travelling. It’s tiny (and so cute!), but it works really well on the couch cushion! So, I’m no longer bound by my clumsy fat fingers. I have true computing mobility again!!\
It’s the little things… like mice.