Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Kitty Friends

It sure is nice having kitty friends.  My kitty friends are named Dusty and Daisy.  Dusty has been with me for 10 years.  She is a long hair Tortie with toe-tuffs.  I love her silky fluffiness.  Daisy is a man-made breed called a Color Point Shorthair.  She is white with orange tabby accents and light blue eyes.  She is part Siamese with eyes that sort of cross at times.  Both cats have their personalities.  Dusty is shy when people come and she hides.  Daisy however is Miss Congeniality when it is one person visiting.  She likes to rub feet.  Dusty knows how to nag and nag till she gets what she wants.  Daisy is our scavenger who jumps up on counters and rummages through closets.  We find things in odd places at times and know Daisy has been up to tricks.  For instances I left my wedding ring in a small dish by the bathroom sink and while washing up, then went to bed.  The next morning I am walking by the recliner in our living room and notice on the floor my wedding ring.  Daisy!

My kitty friends comfort me.  They follow me around the house, they sleep with me at naps and at night.  They know the routine of their feeding and what time it should happen.  They like to go outside and chew grass and chase birds.  Isn't it wonderful that God puts in our care these creatures for us to enjoy?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Yeast and other topics...

Well, this week I was supposed to get my wound vac off and I did.  However, I did not get it off for the right reason.  My wound still has some healing to do, but the yeast infection has gotten so bad I had to leave it off.  While in the hospital I developed abscesses in my incision after the 2nd surgery.  One was so big that it sprung a leak...it literally was squirting a mixture of blood and fluid!  Thankfully, I was in the hospital when that happened and they set me up with a wound vac.  When I went home the hospital set me up with a portable wound vac.  They are great, but unfortunately the dressings (which are not breathable) caused me to develop a yeast infection on my skin.  My skin is super sensitive to adhesives.  My nurse said its the worst one she has seen in a long time.  That says a lot when she has been in the business of doing wound vac care for years.  So I am currently on Diflucan in an effort to kill the yeast.  I have to take one pill for 3 days.  Thankfully the side effects have not been too bad.


This coming Saturday, Mark, leaves on a jet plane bound for Germany.  He will be there for a week.  My friend Cindy is supposed to be staying with me for the week.  Mark asked her to.  She said that worked for her.  Mark just wanted to make sure someone was looking in on me while he is away.  What a sweet hubby I have.

Monday, June 10, 2013

A Long Road

It has been a long time since I posted because I ended up having complications with my surgery.  I was in the hospital a total of 24 days.  When I finally came home I was incredibly weak.  I have now been home for 3 weeks and day by day I have gotten stronger.  Strong enough that I feel I can finally handle posting on my blog.

The original surgery was a wonder.  I went in thinking I was going to lose bowel and came out having nothing cut out.  It was a mess in there, but he was able to untangle the mess.  I had asked the Lord before I went in if He could spare me losing bowel.  He answered my prayer.  However, after surgery was when the troubles began.  On the day that I was supposed to go home I was ill.  I stayed an extra day.  I was home 4 days before I developed a painful blockage.

Both Mark and I were scared...a repeat of what happened in 2008 with my reconnection surgery.  But nothing happens the same way twice.  In 2008, I had a NG tube for only a couple days.  This time I had an NG tube for a couple of weeks.  During this time I could not eat.  And also during this time my doctor located the blockage on the CT scan and decided to go in surgically and remove it.  However, I had developed so much scar tissue, he could not safely get to the spot and so he closed me back up.

That 2nd surgery weakened me.  A day after the surgery my blood pressure dropped to a dangerous low and I woke up with nurses around me hanging lots of stuff on my IV pole.  I had become dehydrated and I ended up with a PIC line so that I could be fed through my artery.  I also received 2 units of blood which helped me come back to life.  After all that I developed an infection in my incision and developed abscesses.  One became so large that I had to get a wound vac.  At one point I became so depressed I had to be given a sedative and put to bed.

It was after that when my pastor showed up one afternoon and he brought another pastor with him and they laid hands on me and prayed.  It was after that I began to get better.  Finally they told me they could take the NG tube out and I could eat and drink again.  After a few days I was told it was time to go home.  I came home with a portable wound vac.  A nurse come twice a week to take care of my wounds which are healing great!  Soon I will be losing the vac and have more freedom.

During my hospital stay I had terrific nurses.  Many friends from church came to visit and support me.  My son, Brandon, called me from California and Eric came to visit me at the hospital.  We may not always understand why we have to go through such trials, but often times these trials not only affect us, they affect others.  God uses us to draw others closer to himself through our suffering...its just what He did with Jesus.