A diagnosis

that took three days and a full night in ER, something that should have been obvious from the symptoms, maybe one of the first things you look for, a condition that affects many people and is common .... but only after an echocardiogram, nuclear stress test, CT scan with dye, several ultrasounds of the lungs and legs for clots, an endoscopy, a few other tests with machines that are unknown to her, and a thwarted heart catheterization, it's her gall bladder.   I assumed they checked this and ruled it out but no, that test was after all the others.

 

Then she was having trouble breathing and called the nurse (a very good nurse as they all were) and after some research discovered that something in her IV was the cause.  Maybe mixed with the nuclear and dye injections, I don't know.  She was told in the lab that two of her meds cannot be taken for several days because of them.  It was handled and she is fine now.  She's decided to treat first before committing to surgery.  Since she has had such critical results to routine procedures, she is scared to death for even laparoscopic surgery.  We will wait and see after she is released this weekend with medication.  Her first episode with the gall bladder, and we hope the last, but time will tell.  If the surgery is absolutely necessary, she will consent and hope for the best.  General anesthesia could be life threatening with her weakened heart, she was told.

 

At least we have an answer!

Thanks for all your concern and best wishes.  You guys are the best.

 

***********************

Slow Polly progress

Hiya folks.  When do you do the majority of stitching?  Early morning?  Evening?  The only time I stitch during the day is when I am outside, late evening is best for me.  I guess because that is the time we sit and watch a movie or TV, no chores are done.  During the day I fidget and get up and down and can't focus, thinking I should be more productive and not sitting.  Between the ER evening, phone calls, and washing/rehanging all her curtains, I haven't had time to work on Polly.

 

I love the section of initials at a 90 degree turn.

Today I had an eye appointment for sharply declining vision (within a year) and am dilated, but should be OK by this evening.  I am very sensitive to any drug.  When the dentist tells me the numbness should be gone in two hours, it lasts closer to eight.  Dilation should be two to three hours, it's already been three and no change.  The strange result of today's visit, is improvement.  ????  I wear one contact lens for distance, the other eye bare for close up and have for many years.  The eye wearing the contact has gone from -2.25 DOWN to -1.25.  That's a huge difference and I have never heard of such a drastic change (improvement) in a short time, in a older person.  Or young for that matter.  He did all the testing and checked inside, said all is well.  I am very anxious for the pupils to return to normal so I can tell if the new Rx lens works.  Hopefully I will be able to tell if the worker in bright orange is holding a SLOW or STOP sign. Really strange isn't it?  The bare eye stayed the same. 

 

As for Carole, her scope revealed nothing new, same hiatal hernia as always.  They then sent her for a CT scan, early this morning.  She still has pain and has not been given her BP meds, heart pill, Lasix, nothing since she was admitted and this is day three.  Developing edema in her legs people!  She takes Lasix twice a day because of CHF so what the hell are you doing?  I can understand another test may be necessary so no food but for days without either?  The lady in her room is there because of another hospital giving her the wrong meds.  Same with the woman in the next room, doctor error.  Hospitalists are the thing now, but with most older patients, their personal doc knows their condition and should be making the decisions.  Carole's physician still makes daily rounds for his patients as do a few others, but most rely on the hospitalist.   He consults with her every morning even though she is under the orders of other specialists.  His opinion matters to her. 

 

I think the rain will stay away for the weekend and it is pretty hot and muggy.  Still can't believe it's the middle of July.

 

Have a great day and thanks for visiting.

 

*************************

Thanks!

Your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated.  The problem is not stemming from her heart.  Whew.  We had to argue with the doctors that her slightly elevated enzymes, were not reason for catheterization.  They even mentioned open heart surgery!  I checked several medical sites and there are a number of benign issues that can cause this, it can be temporary, and many times a reason is not found.  She agreed to a stress test and echo first, both showed no change from priors.  If they had their way, a heart cath would have been done first, and totally unnecessary.  She will be having the endoscopy soon.

 

Nitzy, stump sitting.  The overturned copper kettle is a safe house for chased chipmunks.  I have several around the yard, the least I can do after homing feral killers.  The toads have their pot houses but rarely have the sense to hide in them. 

 

The logs and limbs in Carole's yard are because the loggers do not clean up, they are not a tree service.  They want the trunk only and leave the limbs.  Passing by wooded areas reveals a mess just like the one behind her house. Her yard trees were white oak, poker straight, and huge for which the logger will get a very fine price, in exchange for cutting.   I begged her to hire someone for cleanup but she thinks her grandson will cut and take it all for his woodburner.  No he won't.  Monthly income is not even enough to pay bills let alone removal expense but we offered to chip in.  If the mess is still there in four weeks, I am calling a few people myself and she can get mad if she wants. Years ago, a logger stopped at her house and gave her a price for some of her trees (cherry and hickory) and she was thrilled.  He cut, stacked, and sneaked back at 3:00 in the morning with the rig and took them all.  She couldn't hear them at the bottom of the hill but the neighbor did, knew she was selling the trees so didn't question it.  She received nothing and no one could locate him behind several fake businesses, including BBB and the police.  The 13 cherry and 8 hickory trees were worth a great deal of money.

 

Garden was drowned again and now the tomatoes have a blight from the damp and humid days (weeks!).  But the Roma beans we were given, an Italian green bean that is wide and flat, popped and are growing nicely. 

I can't believe July is half over.  Where is summer going??

 

**********************

Here we go again.

In the ER until 3am with Carole.  Chest pains and rising enzymes, not sure what is happening yet.  They will do endoscopy and also a heart catheterization which she is terrified of after all the other heart procedures that ended life threatening.  Blockage?  The TAVR valve?  As more enzymes show up, they are getting concerned. 

 

I had to be at her house early this morning to let in the lady I hired to give her house a good cleaning.  She was doing walls while I worked in the kitchen.  While I was there I decided to use my $7 a month phone to show you the luge track driveway I refer to in winter.

 

Starting to go down... 

 

 

 

 

half way down....

 

 

veering sharp right at the bottom where cars come flying around this bend.

 

Going up!

You can see how steep the hill is ..

 

They logged the property behind her house and left this mess for her to look at.

In exchange for the wood's value, they also removed a few of her dangerously leaning trees.  What a fricking mess.  Some of the trunk pieces are 2 feet wide, too large to cut and too heavy to move.

 

 

 

 

 

We won't know anything about her condition until tomorrow.  Hopefully it is something that can be fixed without a bodily invasion.

 

***************

 

Dark and damp once again

More rain today - see the drops on the tub?  Just started when I went outside to check geraniums.  And it's chilly.  Very cool air last night and I needed a cover to sit outside. 

 

 We've been pressure washing the driveway which takes a few days and Mark is out there now adding new strings of obscenities to the standard phrases.  Seems there is a problem with the washer so I will stay in here.  I don't understand why men get so upset when we tell them what the problem could be and ask forty questions all starting with "did you...".  They are so sensitive.

 

 Now the sun is out.  Whoops.  There it went. 

 Still working on Polly and completed the first two pages of the chart.  Enjoying it! 

Have a nice week.

***********************

It ain't over...

until the crabass says so.  So.  Now it's over.

 

  

These dogs bothered me from the beginning but unlike every other aspect of a design, I never thought to change them.  Had not a clue how or what to modify.  Then I saw Patti Gagliardi's finish on her post and knew what to do.  Thank you Patti!  Patti has two dachshunds and likes to include them in her stitching which is what I assume, led to the change. 

 

 

I added a few more stitches to the head, shown on the right, original on the left.  Not the first time I added stitches to a completed and sewn finish.  It's not hard to do, even with the fusible interfacing.  And if it was, the dogs were barking loud enough for me to attempt it anyway.  One is still barking because he's a little short in the tail.  Sorry pal, that I can't fix.

 

Done. Again.

 

 ************************