The Longest Gallbladder

My wednesday was like any other day, the kids went to school, came home, relaxed, cooked dinner. Mmm Sausage and peppers!

Nearly the death of me!

After dinner we settled down and were getting the kids ready for bed, baths - jammies - American Idol.
As I layed in bed I noticed some fierce heartburn starting to come over me, so I got up and grabbed my Zantac and popped one in the chute.  Waiting for relief the pain got worse and worse. I waited a half hour and took another. Worse and worse, eventually I found myself in the bathroom curled up in excruciating pain! I could find one position to relive it. I sat, I stood, I bent over, I curled up. It was horrible. After realizing something may be wrong I started calling my mom. Finally after what seemed hours ( it was only 20 minutes) She called me back... COME GET ME!  She rushed me over to the E.R.

We think its your gallbladder...
No way I say, I think its bad heartburn...
We are pretty sure its your gallbladder we have to transfer you to a hospital.
Seriously??

Off I went to the hospital in my fancy ambulance.

The next morning I went for some sort of gallbladder scan. Where I layed on a metal board with a xray machine one inch from my chest for TWO HOURS! My back was killing me! They injected dye into my IV and I sat there and watched it move through my liver and into my gallbladder where it then should have moved to my intestines... and nothing. It stopped. I was broken!

The Death Chamber

So after they were 100% convinced it was indeed my gallbladder they scheduled me for surgery. Removed it and I sat in the hospital trying to recuperate until Saturday. And I say try, because I had two roommates from H E double hockey sticks! They were both old and both didn't know how to use their nurse call button so they screamed constantly. UGH!
My doctor came in to let me know the surgery went well and told me I had the biggest gallbladder he had ever seen in all his years working as a surgeon. Appalled I asked what that meant and he said nothing, its like as if I complimented that you had a large big toe. I laughed. Alrighty then. Good bye abnormally large gallbladder....

Dinner is served... Before surgery

Dessert After Surgery... Peanut Butter Pie!

I am home now thank goodness, but am still in a lot of pain. I feel like I have nine lives... These crazy things keep happening to me and I keep surviving. I dont know what I have left to accomplish here on earth but am so thankful for the chance!

That was my weekend, how was yours??

God gave me a second chance

March 21, 2011

Around Noon I called LJ telling him I was having chest pains, I told him I think its just heart burn. As I was waiting in the parking lot for Dakota to get out of school it was getting worse. I came home took some heart burn medicine and sat on the couch. It wasn't getting any better, so I thought some fresh air might help. I take Dakota and Eli outside. I sit down with my crosswords and enjoy the air.

Then it hit me.
GASP GASP GASP
I suddenly couldn't breathe. Oh my God, am I dying?
GASP GASP

I try to pick up Eli and take him inside. I couldn't lift him. I start to panic, which makes my breathing worse. I call LJ, he is on the Skyway on his way. But it was gonna be a while. PANIC
I call my mom, she JUST walked thru the door from the beach, she was on her way.
LJ made it home first and took the kids, My mom ran me to the Hospital. St Pete General. I thought it might have had something to do with just having a baby, or it was just a bad case of heartburn.

I had an EKG done, it came back fine. I had a chest Xray done, it looked okay. I had a CT scan done. They found something. But they couldn't tell what. It was either Pneumonia or a blood clot. They had to keep me over night so they could do a VQ Scan in the morning to find out. They started me on antibiotics and shots in my belly to thin my blood. Treating me for both ailments just in case.

VQ Scan the next day showed it was pneumonia in my lower right quadrant of my lungs. They STOP the blood thinners and continue me on antibiotics. They want to keep me one more night just in case.

That night Pastor Art came to see me. he is the one who married LJ and I. It was nice to pray with him. Shortly after he left I was traumatized by the events that took place.

Right in front of my hospital door, across the hall was a loud man. He has visitors ALLLL day. And you could hear his booming voice all the way down the hall. Lord, please let him go to sleep soon, I am so tired! And he is so loud.

I am ashamed and sad.

He gets up out of his bed and collapses in the hall way. CODE BLUE CODE BLUE.
Oh My Gosh. Please don't die. I start to pray.

Nurses Doctors Everyone in the hall, stood around my door. I had front row seats to a show I didn't want to see. They worked on him for and hour. And that was it. He died. Right there. Right there in front of me. Right were, just a while earlier he was joking about the Lightening Games with his roommate. Right there where I had asked the Lord to make him be quiet. I had a gut ache. I called LJ and asked him to pray with me.

Then I sat and watched as his family approached the room. I watched their faces as they were told what happened. I wanted to look away. But I couldn't. I watched as they entered the room to see his lifeless body. I watched as his wife collapsed by his side.

I don't want to die here. I want to go home. I miss my kids.

March 24th -
I go home with the diagnosis of Pneumonia. I was so relieved. The doctor came in one more time before I left and gave me a script for two antibiotics. And then dropped the bomb. "Gall Stones"
Say what? No one ever mentioned Gall Stones?? He said they happen, and not to worry unless I am in extreme pain. Umm okay, but weird I have been here three days and no one mentioned them up until now. I told him I was confused. he walks out. Ummm, okay. Just send me home!
I ask the nurse to look at my chart and tell me about the Gall stones. He said there is NOTHING in my chart about that. I wonder if he read someone elses chart. Get me out of here.

Get home to a VERY happy family. Hugs and kisses all over the place. So glad to be home with my babies!

Lj fills my prescriptions. Comes home with just one. Where is the other one? Well the pharmacist says the two meds the doc gave me combined could have given me an instant heart attack. Say WHAT?? What the hell kind of hospital is this place??


March 26th 2011

LJ takes the kids for a walk. I wasn't feeling well still and wanted to stay inside. They aren't gone long, but while they were out. It hit me again.
GASP GASP GASP.

I run to the bedroom, crawl in bed.
GO AWAY< GO AWAY
I don't want to go back in there. Please Lord Make it go away!

LJ walks thru the door takes one look at me and says LETS GO, NOW!
We go to Morton Plant this time.

I need another CT scan which is risky, cuz I just had one and the radiation could kill me.
This phrase :could kill me:, is one I hear a LOT in the next month.

I decide to do it, cuz the benefits out weighed the risks.

The Doctor comes back, sits down. Its never good when they actually sit down.
Its NOT pneumonia.
Ok, so what is it?
Bilateral Pulmonary Embolisms in both lungs.
Ok so what is that?
Blood clots in each lung.
It could kill me.
TEARS. TEARS. TEARS.
They have to keep me. NO NO NO
I do not want to stay I have a new born baby, I cant stay again.
I have to stay, it could kill me.
They start the blood thinners - shots in my belly immediately.

WHY? LORD, WHY?
Another 4 days stay in the hospital. Lots of pain meds, lots of shots in my belly, lots of blood taking. I leave battered and VERY VERY bruised.

I come home still in pain for several weeks. Going to get blood drawn weekly which always ends in very huge bruises from the blood thinners.
I will be on those for a year. Which thankfully is far less then being on the for life.
I have to change my diet. I have to change my lifestyle.
But I am alive. And I am with my kids.

APRIL 9TH 2011
Back to the Emergency room, pain is so fierce I cant take another day.
They do an xray and still see fluid in my lungs. They want me to stay for observation. NO WAY. Send me home.
I go home with more pain meds.

April 12th 2011
I have a docs appt to check my levels. i tell her I am still in so much pain. She gives me a steroid shot.

RELIEF.

Its a miracle. I felt relief! I mean the pain was still there, but I could breathe and move and Oh Praise the Lord, i felt relief!





April 19th 2011
Today -
I feel better. I still feel pain. but I feel so much better. I almost feel normal.
But today I got my first real period. This is going to be a problem. I am bleeding like a deer got gutted in my bathroom. I have never seen so much blood. This is scary. But I know its because of the thinners. And I do have my 6 week check up with my OB next week. So I will check with him if I am okay. As long as I am not dizzy I am not worried. But dang, how can someone lose so much blood? Sorry I know that's gross, but hey, your the one still reading!! ;)

Thank you for all the continued support and prayers. I appreciate all the help everyone has given me in this time and I will pay it forward as much as I can. You are all a blessing to me!

The Car Accident

Friday, October 15th, 2010.

This was the day I was the most scared I have EVER been in my life.

The day started great, we went to the beach because we had tons of family in town. Now, I wasn't supposed to go, because the day before Dakota was diagnosed with a ruptured ear drum. And he was supposed to keep his ear dry for a few days. But I never listen. So we went anyways. We had a great day, splashing in the gulf and then back to the pool. We had to get Skylar home because it was her dads weekend so we left around 3:30. I figured this would give us enough time to get her home and showered before he came at 5pm.

We were traveling north on Pasadena. And for those of you who know me, you know my fear of bridges. I hate them. I constantly have dreams that I am falling off of a bridge in my car and I have to somehow get my kids out without drowning. I know this is awful, but it is my BIGGEST fear in life.

So we are starting to go over the bridge on Pasadena. I am trying to pay attention.

I hear a loud Screeeeeeeeeeching of tires. The SUV in front of me has slammed on his brakes. I have plenty of room to slam on mine. But...

My car keeps sliding. We were on the metal part of the drawbridge and we slide...

I knew we were going to impact the car in front, so I made a choice.

I swerved into the right lane.

BAM.

Hit once, car pushed into guard rail. My worst nightmare... OMGosh will it come true?? We were facing the water, I instantly looked back at Kota, his neck is not strong....

BAM.

Hit again. My head slams against the head rest. OWWWWWW. Dear Lord just get me off this bridge.

The second hit, pushed us back even with the road. I pushed the gas petal and made my way off the bridge. Panicked and crying I kept asking Skylar and Dakota is there were okay, did they have owwies? Everyone seemed fine, but my head was killing me. The woman who hit me pulled up next to me in her fancy SUV.

My first call was to LJ who had left 5 minutes before me. TURN AROUND we were just hit, I am so scared.

My second call was to 911. I was screaming crying and in a panic. The woman next to me rolled down her window, are you okay. Me - I hit my head pretty hard. She rolls her window back up and pulls up away from me.

Paramedics arrive, police arrive, LJ arrives. My head was spinning. Skylar was fine she said nothing hurt, she played her DS thru the whole accident. Thank God. Dakota cant tell me if he is okay. Though he appears to be fine, I still am paranoid about his neck. The ambulance takes Dakota and I to Bayfront. The woman drives away fine with a small dent in her front bumper, claiming to have errands to run. Yes, Seriously.

My grandparents came and picked up Skylar so she could go to her Dads as planned. I checked on her all weekend, she was fine.

At the hospital, LJ, his mom and dad and my mom all show up. I demanded they check out Dakota first. He was fine. no injuries. I was having cramping from the seat belt. Off to ultrasound with LJ. Little Eli had his hands behind his head all relaxed. Glad someone is relaxed i say to the tech.

All in all we are all okay. I have a huge Goose Egg behind my ear where I hit the head rest. Some back pain. But I am alive and I didn't face my worst fear. We made it off the bridge. My car was totalled. Undrivable.

Reality sets in. What am I going to do.

I called in my claim to my insurance just to find out, that my "full coverage" did not include collision. They will not cover my damage. Nor will the woman who hit me. They said it was my fault. My car was "out of control". I am stuck. I still owe about 10 payments on the car, and it isn't drivable. Seriously?

We went through several options, we tried to trade it in. Didn't work out. Tried to look up cars on Craigs List, didn't work out. took the car to our family mechanic - who we trust will all we have...

He tells us, that where the frame is bent, isn't really too bad. All we have to do is pull out the fender, and it will be okay for short trips. No highway. No driving over 45. No one sits on that side of the car.
If we get hit in that same spot it could be fatal. EEK. But it is fixable.

Today is Tuesday, October 19th, 2010.
LJ fixed the car, well kinda. It drives. It isn't pretty but it works. Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love my car. I am emotionally attached. and so very excited it is still mine and it still drives.

Praise the Lord for small miracles.



The accident:

The fix by LJ:

Please let this be a lesson, please check your insurance and make sure you have collision. It will save you THOUSANDS in the long run.

Praise the Lord for our lives. Praise the Lord for an answer, and quickly to our prayers.

Panic!

Thursday morning started like any other. I got up to my alarm, woke up my son. ( I do not have my daughter on Thursday mornings.) And started my day. Got in the shower, gave my son some breakfast, got dressed, got him dressed. Left to bring him to school. Came home. My husband happened to be home this day, so I chit chatted with him while I got ready for Women in the Word, a bible study at my church.

Seeing as I am pregnant, I decided before I left I would go potty.

I stood up and yelped. Blood. Oh no.

"What do I do, what do I do???"

Panic.

Ok, first pull your self together, get your pants up and get out of the bathroom.
Hubby at least is calm and says, "Just call your doctor." Ok, ok. Take a breath.

Call the docs office. They tell me a doctor will call me back.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

An hour later no call.

Panic.

Call my mom. She says call them back, don't wait around.

Ok. I go to the bathroom again to see if it was a fluke. More blood, now clots. ACK!

Call the doctor back, tell them I am panicking! They say they don't have an OB on staff today that they have to call one of the docs at home. "SO CALL THEM!" Ok, they will call me back.

Tick, Tick, Tick.

Finally, they call back. "Its fine, happens all the time. Just rest."

SERIOUSLY? I don't even get a call back from the doctor? The receptionist tells me I am fine? Umm, ok.

I feel okay, so LJ and I run off to a store before we pick up the kids. Have the urge to go potty again.
Even MORE blood, a lot more.

Panic!

Didn't even call the docs, rushed off to the Emergency room.
LJ left to get the kids from school so he could drop them off at a friends and join me in case we got bad news.

Hospital searched for a heartbeat.

Panic!

Finally he found it. Utter relief! Checked me out the rest of the way, said he didn't really know where it is coming from, but the baby sounds fine, i can go home. Bed rest for 2 weeks.

LJ calls, says he just got Dakota and is headed to my friends, I tell him I am done and going home. He is irritated, but relieved.

Today is Saturday and I am still spotting, but not as bad as the other day. I still feel fine. Praying it is nothing and Gods will, will be done.

This is my third pregnancy, you would think I would be a pro by now, but I am not. These little things scare me to death! Hoping this is just a little blip in the radar that turns out to be nothing. But I cant help but still being nervous.

How much more can I possibly take?

Ahhh Monday...

I am so not relieved to see you...

So this week is about the same as last. Dakota's leg started feeling much better this week finally! Wednesday I took him down to Shriner's Hospital in Tampa to take a look at his synovitis leg. They told me everything seemed fine and to come back in 6 months to double check. I also asked them about his flat feet and clicking of the hip he likes to do. They told me if his feet do not bother him, then there is nothing that needs to be done. Some people are just born with flat feet. uhh, ok. And the clicking of his hip is fine, kinda like cracking your knuckles and hopefully he will outgrow it. uhhh, ok.

Went to a birthday party on Saturday. ( Shout out to Nate and Brandyn, WOOT) Dakota was feeling fine all morning, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks. He suddenly was pulling on his belly and was burning hot. So strange. I took him home gave him Motrin and Tylenol... hoping the fever would break and be gone. Fast forward to Sunday morning... Dakota woke up still really hot. No church for us, bummer.... He went down for nap at 1pm and slept til 6pm. Figuring rest was all he needed I let him sleep. I really wish I could sleep like that! When he woke up he was covered in a bright red rash, his feet were purple, and I PANICKED. All I could think about was that this had something to do with the synovitis that has been ruining my life ( see previous post). So I waited a bit to see if maybe all that sleeping just made him hot. Much to my dismay, it got worse. So at 9pm LJ and I rushed off to the ER, at All Children's, for our fourth visit in one month. Sigh. Everyone else had the same idea apparently...
After waiting an hour to get vitals, we waited another half an hour for a room. They were so busy, we were put in a trauma room, which was huge. While waiting for the doctor, Dakota and I found a chair with wheels.. I think you know whats coming... YES I did act like a complete idiot just to hear my son laugh, we rolled and spun all over the trauma room... that is, until we got a roommate. So they did a throat swab and blood cultures, to find out he had scarlet fever and strep throat. My poor boy! This kid has been thru so much this month and now this? OY! They administered him some meds thru his IV, and asked us to keep him still... UHHH yeah right! We managed to keep him still for the 30 minute treatment, and got to leave. he is still wicked red today and really cranky. But wont be contagious after today so that is good. I am less then thrilled to see what this week will bring.
Sorry I have no pictures this week, as lack of sleep and motivation are killing me.
Praying for a better week, oh heck lets go big... praying for a better month.

Go AWAY!

So here we are another week later, and toxic synovitis is ruining my life! UGH! Can we say frustrated!! Back to the ER on Friday with Dakota..

we were there all day, just to find out, that the synovitis moved to his right leg. But the doctor said it is much smaller then the one that was in his left leg. Yay, I say very sarcastically. This one seemed to hurt him more. He didn't even want us to move his entire body all day Saturday. Poor kid. He slept most of Sunday away. With the exception of church, where I got to use the family room finally, which is beautiful. And to hear my son sing at the top of his lungs to Hosanna, was amazing! Although, i don't know if anyone else appreciated it ;) He did get up and walk a bit last night, but it is limped. And this morning he woke up crying again, which is not like him. On another note, Skylar was up puking all night long. I don't know if its a bug or something she ate. Although I don't know what she DIDN'T eat last night! She was on a food rampage! We also got a rope swing put out front, made by LJ and Dusty. The kids liked it alot, but it gave them blisters on their hands... hehe

So this week has been another one to be flushed down the drain... And today I am home with both kids, wondering if it will all get better soon...
I am humbled, Lord. Thank you.

BlogLand

OK OK OK...

So I am behind on Blog World. Seems like everyone is doing it... BUT ME! So I am a natural born slacker, Sue me! No - Dont really do that! But seriously! I have decided to take the plunge, as I don't already have enough on my plate, and I dont promise I will keep up as well as others with filling this bad boy out, especially if they decide to do what everyone else does - when I finally get used to the template they change it all around, and being as I am resistant to change, I stop using it altogether....

But on a more positive note: uhhhh, hmm searching for positivity.... uhhh ERROR ERROR....

My goal is to try and do this weekly, and give you input on the kids and everything that has been going on with us, so those of you who are Facebook Challenged can keep up...
I will try and include pictures when I take them...
I will try and remember everything that happened in a week, even though I cannot remember yesterday and I promise to update with wicked important stuff, more often then a week....

So Lets begin:

This week, we went to the ER at All Childrens twice because Dakota was complaining of leg pain, of course the second visit proved to be the same diagnosis as the first: Toxic Synovitus.. Say Whaaaa?!?! Yeah apparently it is a pediatric arthritic condition, where fluid pockets form in the joints. Now that sounds fun! Uh, not! So today, Monday, he seems to be feeling better, so I am gonna attempt to put him back in school tomorrow.

Skylar won another award this week, for her Yes, I Can Award, that she won last year, apparently she won the state contest too... Go Skylar, Go Skylar. Her teacher from Mt. Vernon Elem., came up to us at church on Sunday and presented it to her. She was beaming, which made me in turn fluff out my chest and walk around strutting ...

LJ and I put up our pool this weekend - not as fun as I imagined it. but reaped the benefits nonetheless. Dakota, Sky and I swam in it with some of my friends... It was cold. Can we say "blue lips" on everyone....BRRR. Ok So solar cover is back on it, and we are hoping to try again soon!

LJ also finished up the fire pit. What is it with men and fire pits?? I mean seriously, must be a caveman thing...

Oh yeah and on Friday we had movie night at the the church. That was fun! Dakota just loves Veggie Tales and it was all you can eat buffet (kinda kid oriented, but filled my guts)

Ok i think I covered everything... See ya next week!

PS, I hope I did this right.... :SIGH: