MIA

I'm still here!

[art by guy denning]

There is so much going on around that I am seriously beginning to question whether I am going to be able to keep my head above water over the next month or so!

As I mentioned before, I'm not going to gripe about how busy we are - isn't everyone?  But since the original purpose of this blog was to document our lives (and not just share my designs, although there has been less of the former and more of the latter), I'm going to attempt to document the comings and goings of our lives over the last few weeks:

• On Sept 18th, my dad was sent to the hospital after a visit with his GP and later admitted.  He suffers from COPD and pulmonary fibrosis, and had severe swelling in his legs and abdomen.  They started him on water-reducing pills and ran a battery of tests which concluded that he was suffering from congestive heart failure, as a result of his pulmonary infections.  Over the next few days, his CO2 levels rose dangerously high and he was sent to ICU.  It was touch and go but the next day he rallied and was moved to another room.  Over the last week or so, he has ridden a roller coaster of emotions (as have we!) and varying levels of health so much of our time is spent driving out there to visit and encourage him to eat and gain his strength so he can come home.  As of today, there are no definitely plans as to when he will come home - and then we all need to decide what to do if he is unable to continue to live at home by himself.  He is 85.

• As a result of my dad's stay in ICU, I decided to forgo my crop weekend with my girls at the Encore Dance Fundraising crop in Elmira on Sept 21st.  Extremely disappointing for so many reason, but I'm glad I decided not to go as it was Saturday that my dad's condition worsens and the family was called into his side.  Plus I would have just worried about him all weekend.  On the plus side, I didn't have to pack for the crop - a task that I dread each time!

• Inventory is complete at two of my stores, however there are unexplained discrepancies that causing me some stress and adding to my limited time.  Thanks to Amy for offering to come in and help me get caught up!

• My surgery on Sept 23rd with Dr. Deans went extremely well.  There was no pain (aside from the long needle that was used in the corner of my eyes to freeze/numb the areas - GAH!!!).  There was considerable swelling and bruising and I was unable to wear my contacts, drive, lift, strain or bend for at least 4 days!  You don't realize how often you do these things until you can't!  I'm back for a follow-up appointment next week to determine if another surgery will be required.  Can't say that I'm really disappointed about that - he's such a cutie! :)
  This is my eye, Day 2 after the surgery - and the swelling had gone down considerably, thanks to all-day icing, 30 minutes on, 30 minutes off:
  
  
  

• Connor suffered from what we think may be "turf toe" following his game last week (which incidentally was played on a new artificial turf).  We spent a few hours in emerg last Wednesday and he spent a few days on crutches, and icing it.  He ditched his crutches at a friend's bbq this weekend and seems to be walking okay on it, so hopefully it was a mild strain

• Today, I went for oral surgery for a crown lengthening - I am really starting to feel my age, with all these surgeries!  Some discomfort, but ibuprofen helps and it should heal quickly.  It wasn't great timing on my part, but what's done is done - and Dr. Mason is a fantastic (and fun!) periodontist.  We spent much of the time discussing the fall TV programming.  Or at least she discussed - I drooled and nodded a lot. :) 

Oh, and did I mention I'm hosting Thanksgiving for our entire family? And that I have another inventory (my final!) 3 days later?  Not to mention ScrapFest and CropFest and the wedding and football games and cadets and gymnastics and sleepovers and Halloween and...

Well, at least it will keep me out of trouble! :)

Tomorrow, I'll share pics from Connor's football game - he's so handsome in his uniform!

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the challenges on my blog for a chance to win:
October Sketchy Challenge (deadline:  Oct 31, 2013)

Leave Your Legacy: Top Ten Lists (deadline:  Nov 30, 2013)

Cough. Cough. Sneeze. Hack.

[source]

I'd like to publicly thank my two lovely, generous cherubs, for passing along their sickie germs who, despite my phobic hand washing, proved surprisingly resilient.

I've spent all morning in bed, trying to break the Guiness World Record for number of tissues used in a morning.  I think I may be close...

Of all weeks to be sick... Don't these germs know that it's CropFest this weekend??  Harrumph!  Hopefully, I'm back to work and right as rain tomorrow - because those bags aren't going to pack themselves!!  

Pass the OJ and garlic, please - It's not a Pity Party without them, you know...

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the challenges running on my blog for a chance to win:

Sketchy Challenge:  April 2013 (deadline:  Apr 30/13)
Leave Your Legacy: Embrace Change (deadline:  May 31/13)

*Sniffle* *Snork* *Cough*

[source]

Thank you, evil head cold germs, for planning your invasion this week, rather than next week when I have an inventory, followed by a week's holiday filled with my bestie from the Westie and a weekend filled with scrapping, laughing and shopping!

Yes, despite my best handwashing efforts, Aili managed to sneak her stuffy nose and pounding head into my body.

Figurately, of course.

And of course, I  had two loss prevention audits today so had to spend the day shuffling between two stores to meet with the auditor.

Some days are pure motivation to run out and buy $1,000 worth of lottery tickets.

At any rate, the countdown is on... Amanda arrives in T minus 12 sleeps!  

Cheers,

P/S:  Don't forget about the following challenges on my blog for a chance to win (deadlines in brackets):
It's a Sketchy Challenge (Sept 30/12) {-- only 4 days left!
Leave Your Legacy (Nov 30/12)

Update on Gary

I've received so many messages and wall posts from concerned friends and family about Gary.  Thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers!

I will leave the entire tale for Gary to tell in his own words, once he's home, but will provide updates as we go, to let everyone know how he's doing.  If this is your first visit here and you're wondering what's going on, you can read more about it here.

During the night last night, Gary spiked a fever.  He's still feeling very fatigued but his cardiologist is happy with his progress so far.  They've managed to find the right dosage for the Heparin to keep his blood thin enough to avoid any more clots and his blood pressure is staying nice and low (which helps the heart to heal).

Because of the fever, they sent him down for chest X-rays.  He had developed a slight cough a few days ago, which they said was due to fluid in the lungs from the trauma to the heart.  Now when I hear fluid to the lungs and coughing, I automatically think, "pneumonia".  But no one seemed overly concerned.

Until the presence of the fever.

And guess what?  He has a slight case of pneumonia.  Go figure.  Ironically, Gary always teases me about going through post-secondary education for seven years, and that I should be a doctor by now...  They are starting him on a round of antibiotics to nip it in the bud right away.

And thankfully, we have FINALLY managed to get the gastroenterologist to look into his GI issues!  He was reluctant to do so, because as Sandy, the Cardiac Educator, always says: "That's why I love cardio - the heart trumps everything!"  But his cardiologist has given the go ahead so the gastroenterologist has ordered a GI X-ray for tomorrow so hopefully we will have answers to that soon after, because really, that's the only thing that is causing Gary any pain right now!

So there's where we are now... thanks again for your thoughts and prayers!  We are looking forward to being home together again and will take all the help we can get to get there!

Hugs,

Scariest. Day. Ever.

That was my Saturday.

At the young age of 42, my husband, Gary, suffered a heart attack.

Just typing that sentence seems unreal.

It's a long story, which I will share eventually, but for now, I will let our friends and family know that he was immediately rushed to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI, on Saturday, where they performed coronary angioplasty.  He stayed overnight and was transferred to Windsor Regional Hospital - Met Campus tonight, where he'll stay for a few days.

He's doing well, but is still having the severe gastrointestinal pain that originally brought us to the ER in the first place.  So, hopefully they can resolve that while he's in there, too.

I have to give a big THANK YOU to my beautiful friend, Holly, who traveled down this weekend for a drum corps show and a visit and ended up watching my kids and keeping me sane.  I *heart* you, lady!!

I will keep you all updated on Gary's progress.  And please, learn the symptoms of a heart attack -  chances of survival are greatly increased if you get treatment right away.

Cheers,

Elephant Man

or Woman, to be more precise:

Let's just put bad lighting and the lack of make-up aside.

Last night, I was watching TV and it felt like my face was swelling slightly.  I asked Gary and he said that he noticed it was a bit puffy at dinner.  I was still having shooting pains and lots of throbbing so I look a Tylenol #3 and went to bed around midnight.

Fast forward to a mere 3 hours later... I was awakened by throbbing pain and a stretching sensation on my cheekbone.  I stumbled through the dark to the medicine cabinet and took a 400mg ibuprofen and went back to bed, not bothering to check in the mirror.

I slept off and on until 7am, when I heard the kids getting ready for school.  By this time, I knew that my face was swollen, since I could barely open my left eye.  I stayed in bed until the kids were gone, not wanting to alarm them.  Then I shuffled out to the kitchen in my slippers.

"Feeling better?" Gary asked, typing away on the laptop.

"Uh... not really." I replied.

He looked up then and did a double take.  I felt like the Elephant Man, with the entire left side of my face swollen from eye brow to neck.  I was so swollen that my eyelids (upper and lower) had disappeared!

I waited until 8:45am when I knew the dentist office was open and popped in.  One look from the receptionist and she said, "Oh, that looks painful.  Let me check your file."

Turned out that Dr. M had written a prescription, on the off chance that I would need it before she was back in the office, and had left it in my file.  The other dentist in residence took one look at me and suggested that I start the meds by doubling the first dose.

Here's another photo - it's out of focus and dark, but it was taken from head on, so you can see the difference better:

The photos above was taken about six hours after the first doubled dose - and some of the swelling has already disappeared!  Let's hope it works its' magic through the night tonight - Katrina and her family are coming to spend the weekend with us!

Cocaine, anyone?

I'm wishing I had some of these right now...

Last month, I cracked a previously filled (poorly done by my previous dentist) tooth and had to go in for an emergency repairs.  Of course, this happened a week after Gary's benefits from his previous job expired... {sigh}

At any rate, Dr. M was gracious enough to squeeze me in before her Superbowl trip (lucky duck!).  While she was repairing the tooth, she hinted that there was a good chance that I'd need a root canal.

Fast forward a few days, and sure enough, the tooth begins to throb and pulsate like it has a life of its' own - all the while shooting piercing streaks of pain from the tooth to my temple.  Of course, this happened just as soon as Dr. M left for her trip.  Knowing Murphy's Law, it was probably the moment she stepped foot on the plane...

I dealt with the pain for a week by ingesting Advil by the truckload, thinking that it was just the aftereffects of the previous work.  Then I finally broke down and made an appointment.  I love my dentist office - they're all so wonderful!  The receptionist, L, squeezed me in for today. 

Now, going to the dentist has never bothered me.  In fact, I've had several root canals and they weren't overly painful - not as much as the pain leading up to it, for sure!  I'm not a big baby when it comes to needles and the anesthetic (sp?) usually wears off fairly quickly for me.  So I wasn't worried about it.

Sure enough, as soon as Dr. M tapped on the offensive tooth with the end of one of the dental tools - and I nearly leapt out of my chair! - she announced that yes, indeed, I would need a root canal.  Of course, it was late in the day and she only had time to start it.

So here I sit, with a temporary filling in place, and my tooth aching from all of the digging and stripping of nerves...  Is it sad that I can't WAIT to get to the dentist on Friday to finish this off?

Off to raid the medicine cabinet for the Tylenol 3's...

Sharing a Little Love

I was completely incapacitated yesterday.  Not sure if it was the 'flu or just plain food poisoning, but I was out of the game for at least 12 hours.  I was up every two hours from midnight on, with nausea and vomiting and then stayed in bed until the kids got home at 4pm!  Still didn't feel well and didn't have dinner and then went to bed early.

I hate being sick.

But thankfully, my little helper was around last night to help me to photograph the mini valentine cards that I made on Sunday afternoon.  The photos are still a little blurry because I was too sick to care at that point... sorry!

 I bought this fabulous little Paper Shapers punch at Michaels on Friday night, after being inspired by the mini Valentine's Day cards in the latest issue of Scrapbooks, Etc.:

Mine is orange though - not sure what size that is?  Medium?

Anyhow, I came  up with these little cuties:

Supplies used:  Bazzill Basics cardstock; EK Success heart punch; American Crafts Memory Marker and Slick Writer; Uniball Signa white gel pen; Making Memories rubons; Basic Grey letter stickers; Glossy Accents.

Thanks for looking!  And don't forget to link up your layout for the Leave Your Legacy challenge - another one will be posted on Friday!

Absent

Sorry, dear blog readers - I have been MIA lately.

Things were hectic with back-to-school preparations and continued progress (albeit slow) of the organization of my studio (will it EVER be done??).  I have an article deadline and I was working on details with Melissa for a photography/photo editing workshop that we're going to be offering in Saskatoon when I'm there in November.

Add to it the sad news that we received a few weeks ago that my mother-in-law is now battling ovarian cancer and well, it's a recipe for stress, exhaustion and sadness.

Last night, Gary drove up to his parents' place late and then trekked into Toronto today for his mum's surgery.  We received disappointing news, but we're thinking positively and taking steps to look at aggressive measures.  Look out, Cancer - here we come (again!) and we're going to be kickin' butt and takin' names!

Thanks for being patient with my infrequent posts and whining about how busy life is.  It's no busier than anyone else's so I will now put my big girl panties on and just deal with it!

Oh, and I only just now realized that I haven't drawn a winner for my previous RAK of a copy of the Fall issue of Canadian Scrapbooker!  Thanks to everyone for your kind words and compliments

List Randomizer

There were 13 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1.{Sarah}
2.Heidi Brand
3.Amber
4.Angie Blom
5.Kathy
6.Allison Cope
7.Michelle Galloway
8.Tara
9.Chelle
10.Tanya
11.islandjacquelin
12.Cheryl Kosakura
13.SusieJ

Timestamp: 2010-09-17 02:24:11 UTC

Congratulations, Sarah!  Please forward me your mailing address and I will get your copy off to you!

Peggy Lee Knew It All Along

You give me fever

When you kiss me

Fever when you hold me tight

Fever in the morning

Fever all through the night

~ You Give Me Fever - by Peggy Lee

Wouldn't you know it?

Just as the weather gets nicer, and I'm set to head out for a girls' weekend away with several of my Just Cre8 design team members, Aili comes down with a fever.

And not just any fever.

She hit about 103 degrees F on Saturday night and since then, has fluctuated between 99 and 103 degrees F.  We've been alternating the acetominaphen and ibuprofen, as directed by our pharmacist and doctor, to keep her fever (and possible febrile seizures, as she's prone to them) at bay.  But she's having a hard time kicking this virus!

I took her into the clinic on Monday morning.  Not only because her fever was so high and came on so quickly, but she was complaining of nausea, headache and a sore neck.  Meningitis came to mind so quickly that we wanted to rule it out for our own peace of mind.  Her fever had abated to about 99*F by the time we got to the doctor's so she suggested that it was viral and to call her if it worsens.

She was still warm on Tuesday so we kept her home another day.  She slept from around 1pm to almost 4pm, and still went to bed at her regular bedtime!  She seemed better on Wednesday so we sent her to school, but by 3pm, the latchkey supervisor called to tell me that she was complaining of nausea and a headache.  She commented that she just didn't "look herself".  Gary picked her up around 5pm and she promptly fell asleep, waking briefly to take some medication and go potty.

She seemed fine this morning (an at-home day for her and I), but fell asleep on the couch around 1pm and woke up with a fever of 103*F again.  I called the doctor's office but had just missed her - she left at 2pm today!  However, after telling the receptionist that Dr. Johnston had advised me to contact her if her fever persisted, she called the doctor and then phoned me back to say that Dr. Johnston would be contacting me to check up on her.

I do love our family doctor!!

So, please keep her in your thoughts - hopefully it's just a virus she's trying to work out of her system!

ETA:  I just checked on her (she's sleeping - again!) and she's a bit sweaty so I think the fever's broken! YAY!

For better or worse...

Well, as with many illnesses, it looks like Aili had to get worse before she got better!

The hives continued to break out every five or six hours - we could almost time her medication to it!  As soon as she hit the five and half hour mark in between meds, she'd start to wheeze and get blotchy.  They would usually start on her face, under her eyes, and we could almost see them bloom right under our eyes!

Here's the photos from last night, around 6:30pm:

As you can see, they are much smaller welts, but more spread out.  It almost looked like chicken pox, or the measles!

Again, they weren't very itchy or uncomfortable so we are thanking our lucky stars for that!  We gave her a dose of Benedryl at 5am today so we're about 9.5 hours hive-free!  Three more to go and she'll be out of the woods!  Keep your fingers crossed!

Another first for the books!

I received a called from Aili's teacher on Friday, around 1:15pm.  She was concerned because Aili had been rubbing her eyes constantly.  I know that she is prone to rubbing them until they swell so since the day was already more than half over, I told Mme. Barcic that I would be right by to pick her up.

By the time I had shown up, which was only about 20 minutes later, I found Aili in the school office, coughing non-stop.  I knew at this time that she was having an asthma attack, triggered by some sort of allergen that she may have come in contact with.  I raced home, got her pyjamas on and popped her right into our bed and gave her a Ventolin treatment.  Thank goodness that the ER doctor had recommended that we get a nebulizer machine to keep at home to prevent further avoidable ER visits!  Her coughing stopped and her breathing returned to near-normal after just one treatment.  I decided to let her watch TV in my bedroom to rest, while I sat and read next to her, to keep an eye on her breathing.

After a few moments, I noticed that her hands had red, almost bruiselike marks on them.  Thinking that they were from rubbing her eyes, I didn't think anything of it.  Then I noticed a welt under her eye.  Again, perhaps resulting from the rubbing?

After a few more minutes, she started fidgeting.  Her pyjama shirt has risen up and I noticed a few red marks on her belly.  Thinking that her shirt was rubbing, I took it off.  

By now, I knew that something was up.  I called the Tele-Health line to see what they suggested.  As soon as I started to describe Aili's symptoms, the nurse said, "Sounds like she has hives."  Of course!  That made perfect sense, considering the asthma attack, itchy eyes, coughing...  By the time I got off of the phone, which was only about five minutes later, her hives had progressed to such a point that the marks were starting to blend into several big hives:

My poor peanut.  The Benedryl seemed to kick in after about 20 minutes and by the time Connor got home at 3:30pm, they were nearly gone!  The nurse had recommended that we keep giving her the Benedryl until the hives had been gone for at least 12 hours.  I was optimistic that we had licked this thing!

Wishful thinking.

By 8pm, when she was due for her next dose of it, the hives had come back and she needed another Ventolin treatment.  And she woke at 3:30am, wheezing and coughing.

It's now 12:30pm on Saturday.  We needed another treatment and more Benedryl this morning and I suspect that I will need more of it before the weekend is over.   Luckily, they haven't been overly itchy or uncomfortable for her, just the asthma-related symptoms.

Hopefully we'll get through the worst of it by Monday and she'll be none the worse for wear!  Have a great weekend!

Spoke Too Soon...

This is me.

Or at least it was yesterday.

Today, I'm feeling better.

Even though, I'm down 6 lbs and have no desire to eat anything.

Wait... who said the 'flu was a bad thing...?

Healing Vibes...

and these needed ASAP!!

Everyone in our household, with the exception of me (touch wood!), has all succumbed to a debilitating 'flu-like virus.  My hands are red and chapped from all of the hand-washing that I've been doing!

Aili was the first hit - she started vomiting at my dad's place on Christmas Eve, around 11pm.  She was up all night, emptying what little contents of her tummy was left, every half hour, almost like clockwork.  She woke up around 11am on Christmas morning (Connor was sooo patient, waiting to open his gifts!!).  She opened her gifts and then promptly vomited again.  Every one of her Christmas photos has the obligatory bowl next to her... :(

Back to bed she went and slept most of the day, fighting a fever.  By late afternoon, she had stopped vomited but still felt warm to touch.  Luckily, she passed an uneventful, if not fitful, night and woke up with a bit more colour to her cheeks and no fever.

But of course, that pesky virus was not done with us yet!  Gary started to feel queasy around 10am Boxing Day morning and was out of commission for the day.  And sadly, around 8pm, Connor started to vomit - projectile vomit, no less.

Calgon, take me away!!

Everyone is resting easy, for now - and I'm happy to say that Connor has been sleeping without interruption for about 2 hours now, so keep your fingers crossed!  Please send healing vibes, and disinfectant wipes, if you can!

Ugh...

Someone... anyone... please put me out of my misery.

I spent a good part of the evening on Tuesday in the E.R., with Aili.  She went to bed Monday with a cough - and after 5 years, I have a pretty good indication of which way it's going to turn.  Knowing how quickly she does turn, I called the doctor to see if she could refill our prescription for Prednisolone.  She wanted to see her first and said to bring her in right away (I *heart* my G.P.!!).  Turns out that she heard a bit of crackling in the lower right side of the lung and sent us for X-Rays, since Aili is prone to severe reactions to her colds.  She prescribed Biaxin and Prednisolone and said that hopefully we could avoid the E.R. that evening.

Nope.

Around 6:30pm, I gave her a second dose of Prednisolone and after about 30 minutes, she was still struggling to breathe - rapid, shallow breaths, grunting, etc.  All the signs to which we've become accustomed, sadly...

I packed up the kids and headed to E.R.  I texted Gary to tell him we were on our way, and to not disrupt his movie plans, since we'd only be sitting in E.R. for the night, while they gave her Ventolin treatments, but he's such a good daddy - he canceled his plans and met me out there.

The triage nurse said that she'd be taken right in to Acute Care, but the lady who gave us the wristlet said to take a seat??  After about 40 minutes, they called her in.  The nurse took one look at her and asked Aili to lift her shirt.  She saw the tugging as she struggled to breathe and said, "Well.  They didn't document THAT on her sheet - she should have come right in!!"

I'm a bit saddened that I can diagnose my daughter's condition better than the triage nurses at our local hospital - what does that say?

Anyhow, three Ventolin treatments later, another dose of Prednisolone and a chest X-Ray and the doctor gave us the go ahead to come home.  At 11:30pm.  With a kid who was all hopped up on the Ventolin just given, not to mention the doses throughout the day...

Needless to say, my head was pounding from her constant chatter all the way home...  But the alternative (being admitted) would have been worse!

But....

I woke up yesterday morning, with a tickle in my throat...

(See where this is going??)

By last night, my chest was on fire and I couldn't breathe.  I had a restless night and slept in this morning - luckily, for me, Gary had planned to take the day off to stay with Aili so I could get to work, after being home with her all week...

I feel like I'm going to die... Time to head to the clinic, I think...:(

Keep your fingers crossed that I'm better in time for my Shoppers Christmas party this Saturday!!

I got a fever...

Well, not me.

Little Miss Aili started running a low fever on Sunday night but seemed fine on Monday morning.  However, once she got off the bus, she felt quite warm and was complaining that her throat hurt.  Just to be safe, I took her into the local clinic for a quick check-up.  Despite his obvious lack of bedside manner, the doctor took one look at her throat and prescribed an antibiotic!  He never did give me an actual diagnosis, but I know my child well enough to know when she needs medication!

She awoke early today with a high fever so Gary stayed home with her while I headed into work.  He called me at lunch to tell me that her fever hit 40.1*C.  I called our family doctor and she told us to bring her right in.  She took a swab and confirmed that she had strep throat.

Gary had left to get Connor off the bus, so once we were done, we headed home.  On the way home, she started to shake and complain of chills.  I could tell that her fever was starting to creep up again so I raced home and we gave her some ibuprofen.  Her temperature hit 41.1*C, but I'm not sure how accurate that was... we put her in a tepid bath, and have been keeping an eye on her.  Since she had two febrile seizures when she was a toddler, she is now prone to them so we aren't taking any chances, and are dosing her alternately with acetominaphen and ibuprofen.

The doctor said that it will take about 48 hours for the fever to break so keep your fingers crossed - it should be gone by tomorrow!

Of course, tomorrow is photo retake day... :(  Looks like I may have to take my own school photos this year!

ETA: her fever came down to about 39.7 so hopefully we'll have an uneventful night!