Friday, November 12, 2010

Great week! I went to Dr. Valin's yesterday and saw Dr. McMillian first, she explained what Dr. V. did in the procedure. He had to release the muscles on my left side and pull the muscles on the right side, to get the hernia to fall into the abdominal cavity and to stay there. The mesh covers just about all of my central abdomen...it's huge. He tacked it down with stitches on all sides and I have internal incision stitches as well.

She said she felt a fluid pouch over the hernia site, which she said is common, and it should go away. If it doesn't, they will have to do something about it....I didn't bother asking about it. Then she said I needed to come back in five weeks, that they wanted to keep a close eye on me.

Then Dr. Valin came in. He told me again that my hernia was HUGE. He commented that it "was good to see me without that alien coming out of my abdomen!" HA HA!!! He didn't say a word about any fluid pouch and said I could come back in six months!

Guess who's instructions I followed?

I go back in July, my regular annual appointment month.

Of course, I then went over to Ikea and carried my bag around...adding stuff to the point that I was regretting I didn't get a carriage. I did take one to haul the stuff out to the car. Got some good buys there. And, I found "ForFor's Snap Cheese" that is a lot like the Skane cheese that I loved so much in Sweden.

I hung around a bit at Ikea, biding my time, to avoid the traffic. It worked and I was able to travel home without problems.

Today I hooked up my new wireless printer, except I'm having trouble getting my laptop to recognize that the printer is turned on and is receiving a wireless signal. I shut it down and started it up again....no soap. I'll have my "IT" person look at it when she gets home from work. Ha ha!

Bad news from Ogunquit...we are not going to the Meadowmere for Camp Husky in January. The hotel is screwing Jack's guests out of the discount, to their detriment. They give lower rates to other people and we are REPEAT customers! Stupid financial decisions. So, I suggested we do Camp Husky here in Eastern CT. We'll see what we can set up. I do want to see the gang together.

Speaking of Camp Husky....the season starts Sunday, when they take on Holy Cross..a nice warm-up to the BIG EVENT on Tuesday, when they play Baylor at the Civic Center. Tuesday is also the night of Ellen's jewelry party...I messed up when I said I would go to it...having invited folks over here to see the big game. OOPS! I wrote to Ellen to beg off. So far, Joann is going to join us to watch the game....haven't heard from the others yet.

Sad news next door. Carol and Mark's oldest dog, Landry, has lung cancer. We were shocked, thinking it was something serious, but not that! We thought she was having pancreatic or liver problems...which is what the blood work showed. They sent her home to die. They give a week. She isn't in pain, but she isn't eating well...which is not good for a piggy Lab like her. Sandy got her a toy and will bring it over tonight. She loves toys. They are feeding her cheeseburgers, anything to get her to eat. It is so sad....she loves Mark so much and he is spending as much time with her that he can. She still goes for walks with him and stays out in the yard with him when he's working out there. It's amazing what dogs can endure....

I saw Ellen on Wednesday and I will be going back on the air in January. I can't say when, because there are some things she has to work out...but it's looking REALLY good. I asked Janet to be a co-host, to give me someone to "play off of" and to ask questions...make it more interesting...instead of my voice droning on and on....

I'm thinking up new segments for the show, like having movie reviews of films that come out about animals...or tv shows with animals as a focal point. And showing YouTube pet videos...they are not copyrighted and not everyone has a computer or knows how to see YouTube videos...

So many ideas....and I do have time to flesh them out. Now I have to start lining up guests, etc.

Tomorrow I go to the services for Vee and I'll get to see the Houle family and lots of folks I haven't seen in years. It's going to be surreal.

Sunday we have our SNEAK (Agility Club) banquet. I agreed to be put on the ballot for Club Secretary. I used to be secretary for other organizations...way before computers and email lists made it all easy! We have our banquet "Brunch" at Frank's Gourmet Grill in E. Lyme....I love that place. It will be great to see my fellow club members...some I haven't seen in a year.

Finally got my appointment for my CT scan. I also have to have a special blood test done...I don't recognize the name of it and neither does Sandy...it's for the research project I'm in...maybe it's the test they are developing to replace the CA 125. They are hoping this test is more reliable and can be used as a screening tool.

I now have a contact in the Norwich office...they are open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Tracy, my contact, was SO HELPFUL! It was wonderful having someone who did the job and did what they said they were going to do. She even called me back to give me a heads up that the CT scan place was closed on Veteran's Day, so I knew to call to get my appointment on Wednesday.

Okay, now I have my chores just about done for the day...one big one left to do....grocery shopping. Sandy said any money I had left over I could keep. Big incentive to save money and good for me, since I depleted my checking account severely over the last two weeks! I am operating on fumes for the rest of the month. Sandy to the rescue!

Later!

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Yesterday was a great day! Best I've felt in ages! I went out on my own in the car for the first time since my surgery and it was great to be behind the wheel.

Saw Dr. Galan and got my prescriptions refilled. Saw Kathleen in the hall while I was there, she was very happy to see my hernia was gone. So am I.

Made an appointment at the Comcast Studio to meet with Ellen this afternoon about getting the show back on the air. Very excited about that. I called Janet today and asked her to be a co-host with me...I think she would be good for keeping it light and funny. Maybe I'll rotate co-hosts....it's more fun that way...I mean having a co-host is more fun than doing it alone.

Then I made an appointment to get my hair done after my Ellen appt. So today will be busy.

Sat in the parking lot at the studio and had a long chat with Katie on the phone. She and the kids are so into the BMX racing and I am so happy for all of them. Timmy's Dad finally "got the picture" and is going to help financially so Timmy can get a bike and equipment. This is so good for Timmy...when he's with his Dad all they do is play video games...Katie does a good job of making him get up and out when he's with her.....now she's got him turned on to BMX and that is a wonderful thing.

Even Little Lera wants in on the act. She says she is going to do it when she gets bigger. Katie is going to get her a big wheel so she can compete in the big wheel races now.

Meanwhile, my Mariah keeps on improving...listening to her coaches. She's gathering the points now, moving up on the list. She told her Mom she only wants BMX stuff for Christmas! It's so good for her confidence and her health. She's learning great life lessons, like sticking to it to the end...keep on peddling! She's doing good in school too and I think BMX has a bit to do with that.

It's good for Katie too..we talked about the "natural high" one gets from being there and cheering. She gets so animated when she talks about it...haven't heard her this excited about something in a long time. AND, she's getting to be around other really nice parents...it's all good.

I've downloaded like a zillion songs into my new iPhone...I'm all set for awhile! I've been downloading music into the computer as I eat lunch, watch tv, etc. I'm into a routine now.

Thinking....just at the preliminary stage now....about setting up a web page on my Mac. They give you lots of space....and part of the space is a blog set-up. I may MAY...move this whole blog over to that. If I do, I'll give plenty of notice. It would be easier for me to upload pictures, make changes in the appearance of the thing, post videos, etc. We'll see. I have to fool around with it for awhile until I get it right.

Worried about my old friend Susie, who just had a pacemaker installed at UMass....she's still there. Sue has a "weird heart"....I think when they discovered it years ago there were only five people in the world who had a heart like hers...or something like that. It's either upside down or backwards, I can't remember which...at least that's how she explained it to me at the time.

Sue is a wonderful person...she lives every day like it's her last...probably because they told her she'd never make it past 27. She has traveled the world and recently retired after a long career of teaching reading. I don't know anyone who is a more vociferous reader. She's read them all.

I'm keeping her in my thoughts and hoping for a good outcome with this surgery. She's had enough worries....

Also, Saturday we have the services for my old friend, Vivian who passed away in Florida a few weeks back. Rachel is bringing her ashes home and we are all getting together to remember Vee. So many good memories, so many laughs, I remember them all. I just wish I had gone to see her when we were in Tampa last fall after the cruise...but I didn't have the energy then.

Vee was my French teacher at Putnam Grammar School and then again for a year in high school. After I graduated high school and was at Annhurst, we became friends and stayed friends for the rest of our lives. I lost track of her for awhile, but saw her again a few years back at her nephew's funeral. We reestablished contact and have kept up through email....even though it was Rachel who was doing the email because Viv didn't use the computer....typical.

I will never forget her....that laugh, that smile...that prematurely gray hair! RIP...

Busy day ahead...

Later!

Monday, November 8, 2010

Been a quiet week, spent recuperating, mainly. Trying to lay low and be quiet. Not always succeeding. Things have been sore, especially a certain spot in my lower left quadrant....which has been beyond sore.

Today I feel the best I've felt in a long time. I do have a weird sensation in the area where the mesh is. I wonder if it's the sensation one gets when one's abdominal tissues are working their way through the mesh. That's what SHOULD be going on now.

The Fed Ex guy came to the door today to deliver a package. I instinctively took it as he handed it to me...only to realize that it weighed more than I should be carrying....20 lbs. OOPS! I didn't feel anything pop though. Good thing.

Had a good day yesterday, even if the Pats lost miserably. Taylor and Andrew came up for dinner, arriving first. Later Jean, Frank and Ryan arrived and we had a great meal of steak, cheesy potatoes, salad and sliced cukes. Oh...and fried onions. All of these are Andrew's favorites.

It was Andrew's first visit to our house, so we were quite excited. He loved the house and toured all around....he especially loved the work benches and the garage. Guys....

Tomorrow I see Dr. Galan...first time I've seen her in ages....I usually see Kathleen the APRN, but she's on vacation I guess. On Thursday I go to New Haven to see Dr. Valin for follow-up. I think that will go good. I'm hoping to have enough left in my tank to make a trip to Ikea on the way out of town.

Husky season starts up soon and I can't wait. We have a lot of excitement to look forward to this season...watching the freshman grow, seeing if they can continue their unbeaten streak and, of course, we are slated to go to New York to see them play at Madison Square Garden on 12/19.

Okay, back to reclining....

later!