Saturday, September 30, 2006

Hand surgery

I had surgery on my left hand yesterday and it went pretty well. The part that always makes me nervous is transferring from chair to bed and from bed to chair. My mom and Aunt Kathy left on Wednesday for Wyoming and Colorado to bury my grandpa and his brother so Stanley came down to stay with me for a couple of days. I was supposed to get preop out of the way on Wednesday but it took so long that by the time I got out admitting and the anesthesiologist had already gone home so I had to come back on Wednesday, yesterday to finish preop. My surgery was going to be the first in the morning, 7:00 so I needed to be there by 6:00. We brought my portable lift it was a lot easier to transfer me back and forth. I don't remember how long the surgery took and I felt really bad when it was over, my stomach was very upset and I was dizzy. Stanley called Lulu and she met us back here at the house and put me to bed and I have been pretty much sleeping ever since. Madonna was supposed to be here the morning of the surgery at 4:00 but misunderstood so she didn't show up until 5:00, I was getting really nervous and afraid she was not going to show up because I had to leave my house at 5:30. Everything worked out and I made it there on time. While I was at preop I saw a guy that I went to school with and talked to him for a while. He was the nurse that took my pulse, temperature and everything like that.

My mom and Aunt Kathy came home today and Stanley left to go home, he should be home by now. I thought we were going to at least have one day to visit but it went by so fast and like I said I slept most of it but I was glad he was here.

The cast is almost up to my elbow but my fingers in some are exposed. I can see a pin in my left finger underneath my fingernail and whenever it touches something I get a shooting pain up my arm. They gave me some Vicodin but I'm not going to fill it unless it really gets bad, it's pretty bad so I'll probably get it filled hopefully tomorrow. I can still taste the anesthesia the matter what I eat, it tastes awful. I have to stay in bed for a couple of days with my arm elevated but after that I should be able to be up and out of here.

On October 2nd I close escrow on my house, it is finally mine. Kelly will be here around the 6th to stay for a couple of weeks and then we will see what happensfrom there.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Another weekend

Everything is going along better than expected. The plans that Charlie did for the House are a lot more than I expected, he is a genius. My aunt came over and helped me put myself on a budget, I wish she would have done this a long time ago and I could've had a lot more money saved for my new home. It's kind of a challenge but I'm going to do it.

David called tonight. He and his wife and family are going to come down this year for Halloween. They don't celebrate Halloween in Georgia so it will be the first time that the kids will be able to go trick-or-treating, it's going to be a lot of fun. They're going to be here around the middle of October along with Andy, Aubrey and baby Stephen for a family reunion and now will be a great time for them to help me decorate for Halloween.

Next Wednesday my mom and my aunt are going to Wyoming and Stanley is going to come and stay with me. Stanley definitely keeps me laughing and he is a great cook, I know we will have a great time.

Next Wednesday I go in for preop and then on Friday I'm having surgery on my left hand. The tendons on my middle finger are stiffening and making my finger bend and I'm not able to straighten my finger anymore, it will be nice to be able to straighten it because I can feel the tendons being stretched and it's pretty painful. Saturday I'm supposed to go to a urology seminar at the Cyprus Center. Cindy told me about it so I signed up to go and I will meet for their. I'm hoping since my surgery is outpatient I will still be able to go to the seminar. Lulu took off work yesterday and today to take her mom to Los Angeles to visit relatives so she's going to take me on Saturday.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Great weekend

I met with Charlie on Friday to see the plans that he drew up and they are great. Besides building a big house he's building a two-bedroom apartment over the garage to either rent out or keep for when family visits. He didn't actually measure the property yet so he came by today with some plans that he has been working on. He doesn't have the final plans yet, he is still playing around with it, but it is going to be awesome and I am very excited .

I stayed in bed all weekend and pretty much slept. Since they put me on Zoloft I seem to be sleeping a lot. The doctor gave me two choices, one you take in the morning and is supposed to give you a little more energy and the other you take in the evening and it helps you sleep. I decided to try the one in the morning because I would rather be awake during the day then sleep at night but it still makes me very sleepy at night. Marie said that the sleepiness will go away after a couple of weeks.

I've been using this juicer that Jerry got me at Costco and I wish I would have had it a long time ago. I tried a bunch of vegetables in it the other night and it tasted great, I tried beets, carrots, celery and spinach and in the mornings I use pineapple, mango, nectarines, grapes and figs and that is really good. I'm trying to stay away from coffee in the morning because of the caffeine but then Jerry brought me over some caffeine free hot chocolate.

Betty made some menudo. I have tried it before but never homemade and it was awesome. I have been eating it since Wednesday and I'm not tired of it yet. It is so nice to have somebody cooking who is really good at it. She is a diabetic so she doesn't use a lot of fat and salt and I like that also.

Thursday, September 7, 2006

The telephone

I have always been real nervous about answering my phone and making phone calls. The last couple of months I have been making myself answer the phone and returning phone calls or making phone calls and it feels great. I usually don't return phone calls because I put it off but I'm hoping to not do that anymore. I feel really good getting everything done in the moment and I don't have to worry about it all day. I don't know where a phone phobia comes from, maybe from growing up in having your parents say "only 10 minutes on the phone". I was also with somebody for about eighteen years that always said the same thing. I've always afraid that other people in the house is going to hear my conversation and think that it's silly. I do enjoy talking on the phone once I get on it.

I go back to today to see Marie. She put me on Zoloft and I have been sleeping really good and they took Brodie out again today for a long walk, she is so happy when she gets to go for a walk at least once a day. In the afternoon if I have time after shopping I'll take her to the park and let her play for a little bit. Of course when we get to the park all she wants to do is lay in the shade and try to pop the tennis ball with her tea, I guess if that's what she thinks of as fun than it is okay.

My mom and my aunt are going to Wyoming for my grandpa's burial later on this month and my brother Stanley is going to come and stay with me for a couple of days. His kids are in school so they probably won't come and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with my brother.

Wednesday, September 6, 2006

YAY...

As a today I own a house in Santa Cruz, I still can't believe it, this is my dream come true. I'm going to miss this place because I really love it and my neighbors but Santa Cruz is where I want to be. I'll be able to run Brodie on the beach every day and even go shopping without having to pay somebody to drive me.

I can't wait to see the plans that Charlie made up to add on, he is so clever and I know I'm going to love it. It's going to take anywhere from a year to two years to finish but it will be well worth it. It is so cool to see the progress and this time I know what I want so it will be a lot of fun picking out everything

Madonna, my morning attendant, told me this morning that she's trying to sell her house and as soon as she sells it she and her family are moving to Sacramento. I am really going to be sad to see her go but she will be close to her family where she belongs.

Monday, September 4, 2006

Santa Cruz here I come...

I met with Katryn today and we wrote an offer letter for the property in Santa Cruz. The contractor who put together this place for me, Charlie, and his wife went to Santa Cruz to check it out and said that it was "totally doable". I can't believe this is really going to happen but it looks like it is. I will know whether they took my offer or not by the end of the day on Wednesday. If they don't take my offer I would just make a counteroffer and do whatever I can to get the place, it is perfect and it is perfect for me and my mom.

Lulu called in sick today so luckily my morning attendant, Madonna, didn't have a client after me today so she stayed and put me to bed after Katryn left. For some reason I had a really bad headache but after I took a nap I woke up and it was gone.

Yesterday Jerry brought me a juicer. I ran into him one day at Costco and he was buying one and when he came over the next day he was telling me how wonderful it was. He was juicing everything and so I decided to get one, when I told him he went and got one for me and I cannot wait to start making my own juice. He also brought me over a wonderful dinner that he made, a lot of the ingredients out of his own garden.

Friday, September 1, 2006

American Idols

The American Idols concert was AWESOME. At first we thought that we didn't have very good seats but as it turned out they were perfect. The music was really loud and so was the screaming teenagers. We both enjoyed it very much and plan on going to more concerts at the Saratoga Mountain Winery.

Next Tuesday we start going to eat and going to a movie in the afternoon. My Mom, my Aunt Kathy, Ellen, Vanessa and I, I think it's going to be a lot of fun and it will be great to get to know them more.

I'm finally looking at property in Santa Cruz and I found a house right across the street from my aunt and uncle. I already got the loan from the bank and I found a realtor and we're going to make an offer on Monday, I am really really excited. I always thought that I would end up in Santa Cruz but I didn't think it could happen this soon but it looks like it is definitely going to happen. After I buy the place I will probably take about a year or two to get everything the way I need and want it but it will be well worth it. My mom is going to sell her house and move in with me so that makes it even better, I think it's time we both quit paying space rent and got a place of our own away from the drama of the mobile home park.  It will be nice to be able to just go outside with Brodie and go to the beach, the movies or shopping by myself.

It has been so busy here and I am exhausted with everything that has been going on so I'm looking forward to staying in bed over the weekend and resting, watching movies and dreaming of my new house on the beach.

I got to talk to Marie on Thursday and I went to see Dr. Shem and they are going to put me on Zoloft for a while. Dr. Shem is also going to look into the surgery on my left hand, I hope they do it soon so I can just get it over with. I'm also going to go back and talk to Marie once a week for a while, Marie is the psychologist where he did my rehab after my injury so I have known her for about ten years.

David just called and it looks like Andy, Aubrey and the baby are going to be here in the middle of October so were going to have another family reunion, I cannot wait and I'm so excited. I just love having family around.