Ankle Update - Full Moon Week

This is a pic of the new cast I got today - tie-dye. All I need is a peace necklace, bell bottoms, greasy hair and a bandana.

I went back to the doctor - got the Christmas cast off and had ankle x-rayed. All is doing fine inside. The nerve on the outside calmed down but the nerve on the whole top of the foot hasn't calmed down as much as the doc had hoped (I have this numb type feeling if I touch it with the pad of my finger but an agonizing 'I want to rip your flippen head off if you scratch it or press on it or do more than a soft type of touch even the least little bit' type of feeling). Not a nice type of feeling but it is nerve pain. So my doctor injected the area on the top of the foot right in the middle and numbed it which took away all that type of pain so since he knew that he had the right spot, he then gave it a cortisone shot. The downside on the shot is I remain non-weight bearing until the next surgery which we did tentatively plan for the beginning of February and I hot flash. The upside is to be determined if it works.

But it has been a true full moon week. Nothing like scheduling a surgery for someone yesterday on the same exact day hubs already has a surgery to do at a different place so I had to shuffle that around. Then I asked for a certain date which I thought was a Friday and I honestly don't know what calendar I looked at that showed that date on a Friday but it twasn't - it was a Tuesday for 2010. So the surgery center can't do the Friday and the real date I wanted so I called the patient and gave him a choice of 2 dates (Tues or Thurs of that same week) and he picked Tues. I called the surgery center back and told them Thurs was fine so when they called the patient we all got confused. I know better than to take a pain pill before doing work like that but I did (take the pain pill and royally screwed up the scheduling). It's all worked out and for Tuesday.

Then we got crammed. I learned that word a few years ago when we got slammed and crammed. Slamming is when your phone service gets changed to some obscure people who charge you a few arms and legs for their service - all done without your permission. All you know is one day you have no phone service and get a bill for over $2000.00 (true story). Cramming is when an internet service steals your internet much in the same way you get slammed with your phone service. I had put a protection on our accounts - an ID code no one but hubs and I know - so that no one can even discuss our bills without giving them said code. But somehow our internet service allowed us to be crammed without anyone using the code and we were cancelled. I spent 4 hours on the phone trying to get it restored for the one office. By this afternoon, that phone line (which also held our fax number) didn't work either. So I was back on the phone. The bad news is that it won't be restored properly until Monday. The good news is that once it is restored, I get 4 months free service and a lower monthly bill for 2 years. The bad news is that until it is restored, my office girls there have to work off a laptop and USB internet service and can't use the printer.

Next I found out on Facebook that my brother's family's dog ran away this morning and they still can't find her. She is over 9 and really good so this is super surprising. Send some good thoughts out for them to find Sophie.

Inlaws are holding - which is good - no new crisis yet but the week isn't over. Hubs is supposed to go out there tomorrow to finish steam cleaning MIL's basement carpeting and to help her with laundry and dishes and take her shopping. I will plead foot pain to not go with him.

But with him gone, I should be able to have quite a few hours of peace and quiet even though the grand doggies will be here from tomorrow through Sunday. I have some books I want to finish in a series so I can tell you all about them - I love this author!

Inlaw Drama

So........FIL went back to his group home Saturday which just happened to be the same exact day as it decided to snow 12 inches in our area. We couldn't get out there so the owner of the group home who had a pickup truck signed him out with our approval and took him back to the home and settled him in. Of course, FIL had no clue who or where he was and 5 minutes after he was back in the home, he had no clue that he had even been in the hospital.

So today we started home care to monitor his blood counts (he has 2 small blood clots in his lungs and a large one in his leg). They are giving him Coumadin to thin his blood after we vetoed a drug that would have cost us wholesale $100.00 per shot plus the cost of a nurse to give it to him. We chose instead to put him on the oral drug which Medicare does cover. His blood count today was double what it should be so we have to hold a dose, decrease the amount he is getting, and redraw in a week.

I got a call this morning from the owner of the home who said FIL had been up all night long crying that he had lost his wallet. With 4 dementia patients other than FIL in that house, I am not surprised. We have found a rosary, a toothbrush, and a purse in FIL's room before and a bracelet in his pocket of his pants. The dementia patient does this - takes and hides his stuff and takes the other people's stuff. FIL would not be consoled though. So one of the caretakers gave FIL a wallet to hold which satisfied him for a bit (until he forgot he couldn't find it). The owner wanted me to know what was going on and to bring him a wallet when MIL went there today. So I called MIL to bring a wallet and told her that FIL had said the pictures in the wallet were 'wrong' and he needed the right wallet. MIL told me there was only the picture of someone that came with the wallet. FIL thought it was his family and wanted that picture back. Kinda reminded me of that one episode of Friends.

So BIL decided to spend the day with MIL cleaning out her room. Mind you there was no place to walk into her room anymore and the half of the bed where FIL slept was filled with 'stuff'. After 10 hours, BIL did 14 loads of wash with another 20+ to go. They were all filthy and smelled like urine - human urine. There were over 25 packages of Fruit of the Loom underwear and undershirts that had never been opened with price tags that stated the 3 undershirts were $3.00. Me thinks that was bought a while ago - a long while ago. He also found 20 bottles of vitamins that she probably got on sale - too bad they all expired 10+ years ago. He made a dent into the room but only half of it. I don't think he appreciated my comment of asking when he was going back to finish. I kinda thought it was appropiate and explained that I didn't want her to have time to 'restock' the room.

In the meantime, MIL doesn't think her pills for controlling her urine are doing anything as she is still going to the bathroom. I told her going to the bathroom even 10 times a day is normal for someone on a water pill. She thinks that is too many times and wants me to call the doctor to get another pill to work better. I said a better idea would be to consult a urologist to see if there was a problem with her bladder control. She didn't like my idea so she said she wasn't going to drink any more than what she had to swallow her pills then. Well I know that she has to take at least a glassfull of water every time she swallows even one pill so knowing she takes over 20 pills, I said that was ok, knowing she would still be drinking at least 20 glasses of water per day.

After MIL insisting she didn't have FIL's wallet or watch, hubs remembered that she was given those items at the ER when FIL was admitted and she put them in her purse. BIL checked and sure enough, there they were.

So I called MIL tonight after talking to BIL to see how things were going. She was upset. I asked why. She stated that she had a 'system' and now she won't be able to find anything. I reminded her about the wallet and that her system obviously didn't work. She didn't appreciate my comment.

**sigh**

Someone either needs committed and/or I need Prozac!

Spiritual Sunday - Giving thanks....

that the holidays are finally and completely over.

And that's all I got right now.

Merry Christmas

Well, 2 Christmas's down and one to go although it is the largest - my side of the family. Yesterday I made lunch at MIL's (cappelletti followed by ham, au gratins, corn pudding, and green beans with almonds). We then all went to the hospital to visit FIL and brought him some cappelletti. We then opened gifts then had lasagna for dinner. We all left then and BIL took MIL to church while our family came home and went to the 7:30 service at our church. I pretty much went straight to bed after church and slept straight through mid morning. Hubs and I watched the Disney Christmas Parade in bed then got up and got things ready for our Christmas this evening with the kids. I made a standing rib roast, mashed taters and gravy, broccoli with cheese sauce, and of course, Christmas cookies.

As I look back over the past week of preparations, I told my husband to commit me if I ever again schedule a surgery before the holidays. It was way too stressful added to an already stressful time, even working part time.

I leave you with a beautiful message from one of my favorite websites: http://greatday.com/

Life is best when it is shared. At no time is that more evident than on Christmas day.
All the various customs and traditions of the season serve to bring people together in a spirit of joy and celebration. It's a powerful reminder of how good it can feel to connect with others in a genuine, personal and heartfelt way.

Though we have many differences, we also have much in common. Though there is great value in our diversity, that value exists because we are able to connect with each other in ways that are positive and fulfilling.

Even the most accomplished, self-sufficient, independent people have an inherent desire to share life's experience with others. Though there is much we can accomplish as individuals, there is far, far more that we can experience by connecting and cooperating with each other.

This is a special, beautiful day. It is made even more beautiful by the opportunity to share with others.

On this day, and every day, live the joy and share the joy. Celebrate the connections that give life so much meaning and richness.

-- Ralph Marston

Christmas Countdown - Meltdown

There is less than 24 hours left before I have the 1st of 3 Christmas's and I need at least another month to get ready.

The weather in Chicago is not delightful although we have about 8 inches of snow on the ground so it's definitely a white Christmas! We are currently getting ice - supposedly through tomorrow but on that border line so truthfully I am hoping for the colder and snow. Snow I can deal with. Ice I can't.

Mr. Trouble has been a royal PITA. He was neutered and front declawed last Thursday and did fine until Monday when he got pissed at us and escaped the bathroom we had him confined to, dislodging the glue on one of his 'fingers' of his right paw. So son took him back to the vet where they re-sealed that area and put him on antibiotics. He did fine until this morning and the area re-opened again a bit. He isn't bleeding much but the vet wants to see him. I can't take him in so they told me to just watch him. Last weekend we actually stopped giving him the pain medication they had given us because this cat thought he was invincible when he took it. When we withheld it, he laid down like a nice kitty and slept. His name isn't Trouble for nothing!

I have 6 batches of cookies to go. My foot and ankle is killing me after yesterday's long day of cooking. I have no energy to get back up to do anything.

Did I mention that 4 hours yesterday I fought with my FIL's doctor and the hospital he has been in since scaring the beegeebees out of us last Friday and their social worker aka case manager (their new name but same job)? FIL has 2 small blood clots in his lungs and a large one in his left leg. He was placed on this new medication to thin his blood. We had to give an order for restraints because I can't be out there day and night with him like the last time he was hospitalized and he doesn't remember minute to minute where he is. Well, this new medication is an injection into his stomach - twice a day. It is covered in the hospital setting but not at all under his prescription program at home. The cost for said medicine from the pharmacy? $10,000 for the month. Hubs and I can get it wholesale for $100 per shot plus tax and shipping or $6000.00 per month. BUT there is an oral pill he can take that IS covered under his drug program and 95% of the country is on. Is the new drug better? In some ways, yes as it has a more consistent effect and less need for constant monitoring. But does the old drug work? Sure does but needs weekly blood draws which again would be covered by Medicare home care. Social worker - sorry case manager - wants him to be discharged to a skilled nursing home for the injections until his blood is thin enough. We said absolutely not. The cost of the drug alone is not necessary and sending a Stage IV dementia patient to a skilled nursing home is like giving sugar to an ADHD child - way too much over stimuli! We shall see what happens today.

So I thought I would sit for a bit and wrap presents to regain some energy. But the wrapping paper is not within my reach or the where the scooter can go.

I called my pharmacy to have my medications delivered instead of being picked up today and they don't have a driver.

Can something - just one wee thing go RIGHT for a change? Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Spiritual Sunday - Panic Sunday

I actually had written this but today realized I had saved it in drafts and never published it.

Today is the 4th Sunday of Advent. Did you know many people name the Advent candles for the different Sundays in Advent? I was familiar with this tradition and even recognize that this Advent Sunday is sometimes called "Panic Sunday."

I am sure you can understand why since this is the absolute last weekend we have to do things to get ready for Christmas - the hustle and bustle of getting everything done and 'perfect'.

"Christmas comes, whether you are ready or not."

Am I ready? Nope. And you know what? I no longer care.

I have a FIL in the hospital with a blood clot in his lungs and his leg. Surgery is not an option. His blood is not thinning properly after 4 days. He is 91 and even with the dementia, he is with us. I pray he makes it through the holidays.

I am also thinking of friends whose husband and father recently passed away.

I am also thinking about a patient my husband went to see on a house call because they removed all life support and it's just a matter of time.

These things are what is important. Enjoying each other and thanking God we have this moment in time to say Thank You. That is what perfection is all about.

It's all I really need.

TGIF - Christmas Countdown - 6 days

I haven't had much time to post this week - pain is less in the ankle so have been trying to finish Christmas presents, plus making sure I got the presents I was supposed to, plus compiling articles for a newsletter that needs to go in the mail next week but the American Medical Association where I ordered my new coding books has not followed through yet with actually shipping one of the books I need to determine the coding changes for the coming year which is the last article I need to include in the newsletter.

Then as all good weeks go - it ended today with a bang.

Have you ever taken a phone call where the caller gives you question after question after question yet never ever gives you time for a response? Yep bright eyed run off of the mouth called me at 7 in the morning. 22 questions without a breath in 5 minutes until I screamed into the cell and said "SHUT UP"! She actually did and then I fired all her answers off to her to which she replied: "Just who are you?" This is a prime example of why I love my answer to these cocky type people: "I am an RN and the doctor's wife. Is that good enough for you? Your name was Michelle. Please be advised that you will be reported for your behavior."

I was wide awake by now so I decided to just go ahead and take my shower and get ready for the day. I had just finished my shower and was getting dressed when I got a phone call from my FIL's dementia home stating that FIL was having severe chest pain and they couldn't get his blood pressure and wanted to know what they should do. I was like - "DUH - hang up and call 911. I will have one of the sons meet you at the ER."

So I got ahold of BIL to go take care of things until my husband could get out there after the surgeries he had to do. I then called a couple of neighbors to go over to MIL's house and be with her when I told her what was going on, and to get together a bag with her medications and things she might need at the hospital. I then called MIL who went as bonkers as I expected but again, thankfully the neighbors were level headed and helped her get ready and took her over there. FIL ended up being admitted for a pulmonary embolism (blood clot to the lung) and will be a guest at the hospital for a few days.

In the meantime, I got son to take me to the hairdressers and then to pick up Mr Trouble who had been neutered and declawed yesterday. Mr Trouble won over the hearts of all the people at the vet office and could not understand how this perfect adorable kitten got the name Trouble. Yeah he fooled them!

But it was bring Trouble home and get him settled then off to my doctor's appointment. I am sporting a nice pretty Christmas cast.

The ending? MIL just got off the phone with me highly agitated that the ER stole FIL's coat. I explained that they don't put coats on patients who are taken by ambulance - they use blankets. Got her calmed down.

I think I need to learn to drink or I need some better meds!

Recipe Tuesday - Pecan Pie Bars

My family lurves a good pecan pie. Me - not so much - give me a coconut banana cream pie anyday. For Thanksgiving I make the actual pie but for Christmas I make Pecan Pie Bars along with a zillion other cookies which I cut down on this year - only making a few. This is one of the best bar cookies that tastes just like a pecan pie according to my kids and husband. I refuse to eat it so can't vouch for it.

Pecan Pie Bars
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter - do not substitute with margarine
2 eggs
1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 chopped pecans
2 tablespoons butter melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix the flour and the 2 tablespoons of brown sugar; cut in the butter. Pat into an ungreased 11 x 7 1/2 x 1 1/2 inch baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Beat eggs slightly; stir in remaining ingredients. Pour over baked layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool until pecan layer is slightly firm before cutting into bars. Makes 32. (Hint: I use a plastic knife to cut the bars).

Oh and course since it is a seasonal bar, it doesn't have one calorie in it at all - for me :)

Christmas Countdown Begins

And I have little done. I never counted on this last surgery to put me on my rear so much. Every other surgery I have bounced back pretty fast and even the pain was bearable with anti-inflammatories and an occasional Darvocet but this defies any medication except painful shots in the knee which makes the leg numb for at least 20 some hours. It's the only time I am able to think, sleep, and eat. Otherwise I just want to take my fingers and grind them across the blackboard and make everyone as miserable as I am. Nice, heh?

But really, without the help of my daughter, some friends, and internet shopping, Christmas would suck big time here. I have the annual Christmas letter done - just have to print it and mail it. I can use last year's envelopes because I never got those sent out. All I have to do is add the additional postage.

I ordered the 2 - 18 pound turkeys today along with 2 - 9 pound Honey Baked Hams and 1 Honey Baked Turkey Breast for my side's Christmas. I also started deciding on what cookies I am going to attempt to make this year. I am not making the biscotti's this year nor the snickerdoodles nor the spritz nor the decorated sugar cookies. But still on the list are the pistachio bread, chinese chews, coconut macroons, pecan pie bars, and the peanut butter kisses. In reality only the macroons and kiss cookies are harder to make as the others are bar type cookies. But then again there is another 1000 cappelletti's to make by Christmas eve too.

BIL and I decided the menu for Christmas eve - cappelletti followed by tilipia followed by lasagna. BIL is making the tilipia and I already have a frozen lasagna in the deep freeze. Kids and hubs decided on standing rib roast for our Christmas dinner with au gratins, corn pudding, and green beans.

But honestly, I have a newsletter to get out by the end of this week along with trying to make sense of the lists of things the kids want. I am really tempted to just pass along cold hard cash maybe in that maze thingie so they have something to do. Hard to get excited when I am in this much pain.

Wonder if I can get by and say we are doing an old fashioned Christmas and have to send each other a note on why we are thankful for them and have that fly?

Even Trouble didn't like that one. But he has been extra clingy lately. This morning I woke to a face full of fur - he had draped himself around my face. Don't know if he is 'feeling' my pain or just reacting to his upcoming surgery this Friday when he gets neutered and declawed. He is a pistol though. Might have to find another cat to keep him entertained. He lurves the tree and climbing up into it and chewing on the lights and batting the ornaments off. He is easily amused.

So what recipe do you want for tomorrow?

Spiritual Sunday - Getting Ready for Christmas

Today is the third Sunday in Advent. I love cable TV especially when I am more housebound than up and around. I can get 3-5 different Sunday services via TV. I always used to wonder if it was the same or not, then I realized that even the word church is all meaning. Anyplace you practice your faith is fine. God isn't fussy.

As I sit here trying to get ready for Christmas without feeling like I am shorting anyone and yet trying to make sure everything gets done, today's thoughts ran to what does God want really want us to do to get ready for Christmas?

The season of Advent is all about the waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. In addition though we are reminded that Advent is more than that. It is in God's Word as we meet him on the road of life day to day. He is in the middle of us wherever there are 2 or 3 who gather in His name.

But wait - I said I watched today's service alone on cable. I was not gathered with anyone. Does that mean I did not really participate? No, it doesn't. God is everywhere. He lives in my house, and most importantly, in my heart.

But you know, there’s waiting and then there is waiting. How are you waiting? Are you hanging around and wasting time? That is one way of waiting and one way at this time of year which seems nice and peaceful. Or are we waiting by looking forward, anticipating, yearning for the coming of God’s justice and God’s peace - are we ready for Christ as he comes? That's much harder to remember in the hustle and bustle of preparing for Christmas.

So how do we include both the hustle and bustle of the preparation with God's coming? We learn to live well while we wait, and live with joy while we wait and always include God in any plan.

Can you tell today's sermon affected me?

A Friend's Greeting
I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me;
I'd like to be the help that you've been always glad to be;
I'd like to mean as much to you each minute of the day
As you have meant, old friend of mine, to me along the way.

I'd like to do the big things and the splendid things for you,
To brush the gray from out your skies and leave them only blue;
I'd like to say the kindly things that I so oft have heard,
And feel that I could rouse your soul the way that mine you've stirred.
I'd like to give you back the joy that you have given me,
Yet that were wishing you a need I hope will never be;
I'd like to make you feel as rich as I, who travel on
Undaunted in the darkest hours with you to lean upon.

I'm wishing at this Christmas time that I could but repay
A portion of the gladness that you've strewn along my way;
And could I have one wish this year, this only would it be;
I'd like to be the sort of friend that you have been to me.

By Edgar A. Guest (1881-1959)

Are You a List Person?

Well, I am. I make lists of things to do then break down said list to littler lists. I had to graduate from post-it notes because I was washing them too often. By using the yellow tablet, I figure I am not only spending less money but I can keep list after list after list all in the same tablet. Plus it's too big to put in my pocket thus too big to not see go in the wash.

Take for instance Christmas. This year I have been a bit 'grounded' you might say - more on my rear in bed than anywhere else. But the reality is, Christmas won't be pulled together if someone didn't make sure everything and everyone was done. Here's where I come in.

I have a master list of all the stuff that needs to be done.

I have littler lists of that bigger list. For example, I have a list of what I am making for dinner for my mom's house, for my inlaws house, and for our house. Of those lists I have what I am serving for each dinner. I also have a master grocery list of all the supplies I need. I also have a combined list of when I need to do what - more of the plan for each day.

Then there is the master Christmas list. One year I almost forgot the mailpersons gift certificates and the envelopes for the employee's bonuses. Also on this list is whose name we have per family, and includes presents for those random people - my daughter's inlaws who always get us something, etc.

Then there is the baking list which comprises what cookies I am making this year and then taking where.

My kids used to love to find my lists - but I learned to encrypt them. But this year I have a huge problem - the pain meds are messing with my brain and I can't remember the code or where I hid some lists.

Hopefully everything will get done and I will remember where I put this one list. I just need to find a light blue shirt to wear to my mom's - we are doing family pics and our family chose light blue to be dressed in.

Things That Make Me Happy

I am really a simple person. Right now my goal of something to make me happy is to stay out of pain. Not easy with CRPS. Cortisone shot the other day worked but who knows for how long but at least that pain is gone. Got another cortisone today all across the whole top of the middle of the foot - at least 50 some shots. Didn't feel good but now is all nice and numb. We shall see when it wears off.

Otherwise, believe it or not, I am learning to delegate my Christmas shopping and even doing some shopping online. Maybe I will come into the 20th century or wait, it's the 21st century. Okay have patience with me - I am getting there.

But one of the bestest things today that made me happy - ordering the above to put gift cards in to make my kids opening their gifts work to get their present! They can be ordered at http://www.catalogfavorites.com/

But the absolute bestest thing that happened today - it is FINALLY getting to be my kind of temperature - today was 4 as a high with -18 degrees wind chill. Didn't even have to wear my fleece - still short sleeve weather!

Recipe Tuesday - Chicken or Turkey Tetrazzini

Ingredients
8 ounces uncooked egg noodles
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup butter, cubed
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
1 cup half-and-half cream
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Reggiano cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. (If making them by scratch use 4 eggs to 5 cups of flour, knead, then run through a pasta machine and hang to dry. Cooking time depends on their dryness but I usually make either ala dente).

In a large saucepan, saute mushrooms and onion in butter until tender. Stir in broth.

Combine the cornstarch, salt, pepper and cream until smooth. Stir into the mushroom mixture. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in mozzarella cheese until melted. Stir in chicken and noodles.

Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Note: sometimes I will add leftover peas to this

Spiritual Sunday - Staying Positive

Staying Positive - easier said or typed than done. But did you know that people who were pessimistic had a nearly 20 percent higher risk of dying over a 30-year period than those who were optimistic?

The problem is that staying positive is not easy and there are no simple tricks. Reading a books about tips on staying positive won't suddenly change your outlook on life, but it can make you start thinking differently. The main trick to staying positive is wanting to be happy. If you want to be happy and positive, then you can!

You can also avoid negative thinking. Avoid dwelling on downers. Focusing on negatives isn't only unpleasant, it also can make you less effective in tackling any tasks you face. Don't diss yourself. You may have had negative messages in your head for a long time. But research shows that you can learn to shift your thoughts and that, over time, you can literally change your brain.

Another way I avoid negative thinking is to imagine what I'd tell a friend if he/she was worrying about something. I would likely convince him/her to wait a bit before assuming the worst. So if I can do that for my friend, why can't I do it for myself?

Honestly though, the best way I stay positive is I put myself in God's hands. I let Him take care of whatever problem or worry I have. He always comes through even if I don't always like His answer.

Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results.
- Willie Nelson

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
- Winston Churchill

A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
- Herm Albright

Update on Ankle Surgery #4 - CRPS?

I am now 15 days postop. I did go to work this past Thursday but only made it through with a pain pill and my husband giving me a block in the knee so the nerve pain would go away. I went to see the surgeon yesterday and all is looking well. He removed about 50 staples in the incision lines but left about 30 since there were areas the skin had not totally healed together yet. As you can tell in the picture above, there was a small inch incision on the inside of the foot, a 2 inch incision on the extreme outside of the foot, and a 6 inch incision just to the outside of the mid part of the foot (the 2 small ones were in the same spot as 2 of my prior surgeries).

Each surgery has been a bit different in my response to it. This one was no different. The first week I had mainly bone pain mixed with the nerve pain from the decompression of 2 of the main nerves to the feet. They both had been caught in scar tissue and the surgeon released them. Normally after a decompression, the nerve pain gets better after. Mine didn't. It got a whole lot worse, actually to the point that I wanted a knife to just cut off the leg. I couldn't sleep without being fully medicated and I hated using the pain pills. (Also the reason I haven't posted much).

But the nerve pain has been bad - really bad. Ever get the pins and needles after your foot or leg go to sleep and they start waking up? Now imagine that feeling all the time only 100 times worse with increasing intensity at times but it never ever goes away. My foot was getting to the point that I didn't want to move it as the pain would worsen. It didn't like anything touching it and it was swelling in weird spots and ways. My husband gave me a nerve block in the side of the knee which knocked out all the pain. I could think again. It was amazing. One doesn't realize how much pain they are really in until the pain disappears.

But it came back within 24 hours. So I had to get another shot. The reason? I have a complication of the repeated surgeries and trauma to the foot and ankle - it is called CRPS or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and it is pretty serious. Thankfully my husband diagnosed it early as there is a better chance then to get it settled back down.

CRPS is a chronic progressive disease characterized by severe pain, swelling and changes in the skin. There are 2 types: Type I, formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), Sudeck's atrophy, reflex neurovascular dystrophy (RND) or algoneurodystrophy, does not have nerve lesions. Type II, formerly known as causalgia, has evidence of obvious nerve damage. I am considered Type II by virtue of the injury and amount of surgery I have had to be put back together.

There are also 3 types of symptoms: Type one is characterized by severe, burning pain at the site of the injury. Muscle spasm, joint stiffness, restricted mobility, rapid hair and nail growth, and vasospasm (a constriction of the blood vessels) that affects color and temperature of the skin can also occur. Type two is characterized by more intense pain. Swelling spreads, hair growth diminishes, nails become cracked, brittle, grooved, and spotty, osteoporosis becomes severe and diffuse, joints thicken, and muscles atrophy. Type three is characterized by irreversible changes in the skin and bones, while the pain becomes unyielding and may involve the entire limb. There is marked muscle atrophy, severely limited mobility of the affected area, and flexor tendon contractions (contractions of the muscles and tendons that flex the joints). Occasionally the limb is displaced from its normal position, and marked bone softening and thinning is more dispersed. Right now I am Type one. The pain and all symptoms involve just the foot and ankle.

So instead of being casted, I have a light compressive bandage on to control the swelling and to protect the incision lines and remaining staples. Every hour I have to move my ankle and wiggle my toes to break the cycle.

CRPS is actually an interesting disease complex. One's perception of pain is actually a response to a painful stimulus. The cycle is pictured perfectly below:

In a normal pain cycle, the cycle breaks when a medication is taken or you rest the part that hurts - that is what I always did before. Just enough good times to really let the body heal itself and feel right again.

But in CRPS, one does not break the pain cycle with a simple pill or rest. It involves different treatment patterns. Right now we are using the nerve blocks to the whole leg on a daily basis along with passive range of motion and different sensation things like touching my foot with a soft rag, touching the foot with a scratchy rag, hot rags, cold rags, etc.

Recipe Wednesday - Sliced Baked Potatoes

Yeah yeah I know it's supposed to be Recipe Tuesday but I couldn't come downstairs yesterday - had a bad day. Actually today isn't much better pain wise but a girl has to get her clothes washed. And no, I trust NO ONE washing my clothes - NO ONE! Hence why I am up and around my recipes so I can give you one. Without further ado:

Sliced Baked Potatoes

4 medium potatoes
2-3 tablespoons melted butter
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs such as parsley, chives, or thyme or 2-3 teaspoons of dried herbs of your choice
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Wash the potatoes in water and pat dry. Cut each into thin slices but not all the way through (you can put the potato between the handles of 2 wooden spoons which will prevent your knife from cutting all the way through). Place the potatoes in a microwave pan or dish. Sprinkle with the melted butter and the herbs. Microwave at high power for 10 minutes, rearranging the potatoes after 5 minutes. Let them rest for 5 minutes.

Take the grated cheddar cheese and put a pinch between each slice. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Microwave for another 4 minutes until cheeses are melted and the potatoes are soft. Sprinkle with salt.

Put the dish under the broiler for 2 minutes or until the cheese slightly browns.

Facebook and Friends

Sorry for the lapse recently in posting - been a bit fuzzy with pain pills and then coordinating my thoughts which were as loosey goosey as my ankle supposedly was. Hopefully there will be an end to this bone pain topped with the nerve pain.

I digress.....I have a Facebook account and yes, I am over 20-something. I think I had heard some statistic that the average age on Facebook was well over 40 now. Personally I like it a whole lot better than classmates.com or Myspace or any other place I know of. I can allow who I want to see what I want to them to see when I want them to see by dividing my 'friends' into my peeps, relatives, classmates, etc. I then can assign them which group they are in and then what they can see - so say for instance I have a friend I trust that knows me. I will put her in not only the peeps area but also allow her to see my crazy relative area and possibly my classmate area. My relative people though with the exception of 3 people are only allowed to see what my other relatives say to me, not what any of my friends say. Hopefully I am explaining this right.

I have denied friend access if I never knew them in high school or college or if I haven't talked to them in over 25 years and don't care if I ever talk to them again.

I recently had a 'friend' ask me to be her friend. Interestingly enough, this said friend and I attended college together and lived together all 4 of those years. We were in each other's weddings and had our 1st child within 6 months of each other. At that time we were close. But something happened. I did a bad thing. I refused to allow my 2 and half year old child to attend her daughter's birthday party because she was running a temp and had been up all night puking. Yeah I was a bad mother. You would think this person would be happy I didn't allow my daughter to infect her child or any other people at the party. But no, I was screamed at, called every name under the sun plus a few more I didn't even know. Why? Because every other child was sick too and had cancelled. So this 'friend' expected me to be there irregardless. I said no. I was 5 months pregnant at the time and after being up all night, didn't feel so well myself. She has not talked to me since.

That is, until I received an invite to become her friend on Facebook. I politely ignored the invite for 2 weeks. Then I denied it. I got another invite from her today, this time with a note saying to stop being a bitch. Now I could get into an email battle with her for daring to call me a bitch. But to me, it's just not worth it. My husband ran into hers around the time I was going through cancer and treatments. Did she call then? Nope. Over the years has she ever called? Nope. Does she deserve my time? Nope.

Sorry, Charlie.........denied again.

Has this ever happened to you?