I hope we're not going

here again.

Grump's Mom is in this morning to have her 2nd knee replacement. The first replacement spawned the post linked above, as well as this and this. (And probably others, but those were the ones I could find quickly.)

We're all praying that this surgery goes much, MUCH more smoothly than the last one. If you have a moment to send out a prayer or good thought on her behalf, it'd be lovely!

Please

say a prayer for the Grumps and I. I'm not going to go into details here, other than to say that everyone is healthy and safe. But, if you have a few moments to send us some good thoughts & prayers, we would greatly appreciate it.

There will probably be some radio silence here for a little while, as well as a reduced commenting stretch. My apologies, and my thanks for your understanding.

Updates

Dad is still in the hospital. They've decided the abdominal pain was caused by severe dehydration. He's got some kind of infection going on, possibly in his urinary tract, and they found some spots on his liver. He's been in the Critical Care Unit since Monday night, but are hoping to move him to the step-down unit today.

After being incredibly low (60s/40s), they've gotten his blood pressure to a place they are more happy with. The docs are confident that the low pressure was also because of the dehydration, as it's normalized after about 24 hours on IV fluids.

His heart rate is still giving them the most trouble. He says he's always had an "irregular heartbeat", but Dad's never been a fan of doctors, so we don't have a real history on said irregularity. Those fancy hospital monitors REALLY don't like it tho (about every 5-10 minutes it will start beeping and flashing a red "VTACH" warning), and the cardiologists don't like it either. They seem to be close to deciding that it's just the way his heart works. Once that is decided (with a round of bloodwork they drew this morning), they'll release him to the new unit.

His spirits are good, but he's antsy as hell to go home. He wants a cup of coffee, and a cigarette, and a glass of cool water - in the WORST way. Because of the abdominal pain they've not let him have anything to eat or drink since he's been there, but have started him on ice chips this morning. Convincing him that ice chips will lead to water which will eventually lead to food hasn't been easy. Nor has reminding him that he's going to be in the hospital for a few days (he wants to go home NOW, so that he can "get better").

Once they have him more stabilized, they're going to take a closer look at the liver. They're not sure if the spots are simple the kind of thing you'd see on an almost 80 year old liver, or if they could be cancer. For now tho, getting his strength up is the priority. We'll deal with what comes next - well.... next.



In other news: My follow up with Dr. N went well, and pretty much as expected. Lupron & estrogen are doing their thing, so I'll be on them for the full 6 shot regimen. After that, we'll be released to TTC "naturally" for a few months. If I'm not pregnant by "Jan - Mar timeframe", he's willing to give Clomid a try for 4-6 months, and then it'll be off to the RE. My next appt with him is on Sept 8.


Sorry for the factual approach to the update. I have some things I actually need to get done at the office, and then I have some running to take care of for Dad. I'll likely be spotty over the next few days, but will update the blog when I have news to share. Thanks all for the prayer support. It means the world to me!

Prayer Request

Just got a call that my older half sister took our Dad to the hospital. He's having trouble breathing, and has significant pain in his abdomen. They still have him in ER, and will be running tests to see what's up.

Please say a prayer for him. Will update when I can.

Thanks!

Good News for a Friday Afternoon!

My mother-in-law had her "what do we do now?" appointment with her oncologist yesterday and... she's IN REMISSION!!! WOOHOO!!!!! And even better - her spleen as somehow reduced back to normal size! She won't need surgery, and she is done with chemo (for a while, anyway)! Doc still wants to put her on a maintenance chemo schedule (one dose every couple of months), just to help her stay in remission, but we expected that.

This is absolutely the BEST possible outcome for her whole situation! What an awesome resolution to all of this! Our family couldn't be more pleased, nor could we be any more thankful for all of the prayers and good thoughts that have been sent our way. Thank you so much, kind friends!

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In upcoming news: testing went well, prep was AWFUL. Might, if I'm feeling so inclined, share some details soon... Trust me when I tell you it's not something you'll likely want to read. BUT, I think I want to document it for my own records.

Too much

I don't know what else to say - it's simply too much.

This time of year is normally hard on me, as I work harder in these 3.5 months than I do in the other 8.5 months of the year... combined. It's the nature of the beast tho, and by sacrificing my sanity during the often brutal (and always unpleasant) months of Michigan winter, I get to rejoice in much reduced work hours during the off season, including having every other Friday off.

Add to that the insanity that is convention season. That committee I talked about here is planning a weekend long convention for approximately 300 attendees. We have scheduled events for Friday evening, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning. My role on the committee is primarily to handle the registration data entry for all attendees. It's not difficult, but it takes TIME. I figure I spend 3-4 hours per week for about 8 weeks. Again, not difficult, but time consuming. During a time of year when my "down time" is already significantly reduced.

Now, I should say that I'm used to those 2 things falling on my calendar during the same months. That's the way it is for me, and has been for the last few years. I can deal with that. Even though I don't enjoy it, I've learned to tolerate it, and can still manage to keep the rest of my life mostly in tact.

What qualifies as too much - what is driving me to a mental place that I haven't been to in a long time, and one that I'm not too keen on revisiting - is all the other crap that I have going on:

• My mother-in-law is still undergoing chemo. Tomorrow's treatment is tentatively scheduled as her last, but we have no idea what comes next. Her spleen still needs to be removed, she still has some recovery to do from her knee replacement in December, and she is still a very sick woman.
  
  
• My surgery and recovery, though not currently an immediate concern, has me freaked right the fuck out. What if the March 10 appointment doesn't go well, and they have to do the surgery sooner? What if waiting until April causes more harm than we thought it would? What if I have to go through another 6 weeks of recovery, locked in my house putting semi-permanent ass prints in my couch? How will the post surgical Lupron treatment go? What if the endo is more involved this time around, and I lose some parts that I really kinda need? How much is this whole thing going to effect my fertility (or, lack-thereof, as the case may be)?
  
  
• Thanks to the asshat that stole my debit card #, our finances are even further out of whack. (Sidenote, what is "in whack"? Can anyone answer that for me?) In my attempts to work us out of some unplanned financial ugliness, I managed to cut things shorter than normal for the last few months. It's been ok, and it will be ok, but that bastard just ratcheted up the stress level another few notches for me.
  
  
• I have absolutely no energy left during the week, and I try to spend my weekends enjoying some time with Grumpy. This means, of course, that my house is an absolute, God-forsaken, disaster. "Cleaning" has been limited to vacuuming about 20% as often as I need to, and throwing a load of laundry in the wash when I get the "I'm on my last pair of underwear" text message. I've never been what you'd consider a "clean freak", but it's been a long LONG time since my house has been in a condition that I'm embarrassed about... and it's there now.
  
  
• And the latest and greatest on my pile... I spent over an hour on the phone last night with my cousin. She's a freshman in college, and away from home for the first time. Except, she's no longer away from home. Right about now, she & her parents should be pulling into their lovely little suburban home, after G (the cousin) has lost all ability to cope with daily life. She's facing some health concerns (both physical and mental), and literally cannot handle the daily expectations of college life, dorm life, meeting her own most basic needs. She feels broken, and doesn't know how to fix herself. My heart breaks for her, and I want so badly to help, but I have no idea what I can do for her.

Can I PLEASE take a nap? And could that nap PLEASE last until... oh... April 15?

Good News and........

First off, thanks so much for the continued prayer support for Grumpy's Mom. She's still doing ok, and has one more chemo treatment to get thru (this Thursday). After that, we assume there will be another bone marrow biopsy to see if the chemo did what they wanted it to, and then some kind of planning session regarding either further treatment, or surgery for her spleen. If you can, please keep up the prayers, as we still have a L-O-N-G road ahead.

Had my follow-up appointment with Dr. N yesterday. The good news is that my bloodwork (thyroid & fasting insulin) came back ok, so the odds of it being PCOS are further reduced (altho, not gone entirely, I don't think).

The not-so-good news.... I need surgery. I have a 9cm endometrioma on, around, or near my right ovary. Doc says there is a 50/50 chance that he'll be able to remove it robotically, or laprascopically. Otherwise, full on laparotomy (again) with 6 weeks of recovery (again). He's hopeful that he'll be able to get in there & clean things up, and that I'll be able to keep all of my parts. But, he won't know that until he's in.

Fortunately, he said there's no reason the surgery can't wait until after the end of tax season, barring me becoming uncomfortable or symptomatic, so at least I don't have to mess things up at the office any more than they already are.

I have a follow-up appointment on March 10, just to see how I'm doing, and make sure the surgery can still wait until April. Of course, should I experience any pain or other symptoms before then, I'm to get in to see him asap.

Any advice on things I need to ask at the next appointment? Grumpy & I are putting a list of questions together, so we get everything covered. Sadly, upon the dropping of the surgery bomb, my brain promptly went to mush (including the oh so lovely welling of the eyes), so there was no Q&A yesterday.

Here we go again....

She's still hanging in there

Just thought I'd give y'all a quick update on my mother-in-law.

She's halfway thru her 4 treatment round of chemo. Next treatment is Thursday, and we should get updated bloodcounts then or on Fri. She's weak, and tired, and very foggy (partially from the pain meds she's on, no doubt), but she's still hanging in there.

I'd appreciate continued prayer support. Even though she seems to be doing well so far, we still have a L-O-N-G way to go before we can consider her health to be stable.

I'll update again when there is news to share.

Thanks all!

CD1 & prayer request

as usual, buying & using an expensive HPT brought on AF. oh well, I still have my gyno appt for Friday, and I still haven't had a "normal" cycle since September (others in between were really light), so I still need somebody trying to figure out what's going on.

Grumpy's Mom isn't doing any better, so please, keep praying for her.

much randomness, life just got crazy...

first, the quick "non" update.... it's now cd55, and still no sign of impending AF. I have no idea where that bitch is, but I wish she'd show & get it over with already. oh, and as a little added bonus, I think I'm getting a UTI. And I still have my cold sore. At least the swelling stage of the cold sore is over, so I don't look battered. Now it's into the icky scab stage, which means it should be gone in a couple of days.

On to the craziness... Grumpy's Mom is a cancer survivor.... times 3. That's right folks, 3 bouts with leukemia, 3 rounds of chemo, and 3 times victorious. Now, we're on to round 4.

To make a very long story very short, she's going to need surgery to remove her spleen. Unfortunately, her system is too weak to handle the surgery right now, so they are giving her a round of chemo (yep, that would be round 4), in hopes of boosting up her blood levels enough to be able to operate.

Beyond the cancer, she's got about 372,905 other complications. Some are health related, some are lifestyle choices. Rather than make this a big angry post (cause I really don't want to do that right now), I'm just going to say that her medical history could rival War & Peace in length.

It looks like the family is circling the wagons for treatment round 4, followed by major surgery, followed by loooooooooong recovery time. Can I ask you, oh wise & all-supportive blogosphere, for some continued prayer/good thought support over the coming days/weeks/months?

Thanks ladies & gents, for I know that I can count on your support through this. I'll post progress updates as they present themselves.

too blah to title

I wish I had more to say these days, but I don't. Makes for an awfully sad little blog, and for that, I am truly sorry.

It's cd23, and my chart still doesn't show anything that looks like ovulation. Fun fun.

Christmas craziness has me doing all the normal last minute stuff: buying those last few gifts, wrapping what's been bought (which means I must vacuum, because I don't think most people would enjoy unwrapping golden retriever hair with their gift), making sure the Grumps & I both have appropriate clothing for the 2 day madness. Is it Wednesday yet?

Without going into any details, I'm going to ask you all for some prayers. Grumpy's mom is back in the hospital with some complications. She'll be ok, and should in fact be released today or tomorrow, but the added stress within the family might just be enough to crack someone this year. Fortunately, Grumps seems to have the most level head about it throughout his entire family, so I don't fear him being the one to crack. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for everyone else. So, if you have a moment, could you just say a little prayer for Mom's health, and everyone else's sanity?

In case this is my last post before Christmas, Merry Christmas to all those who celebrate it. Happy Holidays to all who celebrate something else. And enjoy the paid work holiday to all those who don't celebrate anything!

Prayer Request

A very close friend of mine just lost her baby. It was a surprise pregnancy, but the parents were warming to the idea of bringing a little one into their home. She was about 10 weeks along (but I have no idea how long ago the baby died).

Please say a prayer for her.

Best Prayer I've Heard In A Long Time

"Heavenly Father, Help us remember that the jerk who cut us off in traffic last night is a single mother who worked nine hours that day and is rushing home to cook dinner, help with homework, do the laundry and spend a few precious moments with her children.

Help us to remember that the pierced, tattooed, disinterested young man who can't make change correctly is a worried 19-year-old college student, balancing his apprehension over final exams with his fear of not getting his student loans for next semester.

Remind us, Lord, that the scary looking bum, begging for money in the same spot every day (who really ought to get a job!) is a slave to addictions that we can only imagine in our worst nightmares.

Help us to remember that the old couple walking annoyingly slow through the store aisles and blocking our shopping progress are savoring this moment, knowing that, based on the biopsy report she got back last week, this will be the last year that they go shopping together.

Heavenly Father, remind us each day that, of all the gifts you give us, the greatest gift is love. It is not enough to share that love with those we hold dear. Open our hearts not to just those who are close to us, but to all humanity. Let us be slow to judge and quick to forgive, show patience, empathy and love."



I'm not an overtly religious person, but I wanted to share this. I'm also not known for my patience, and this serves as a reminder that everyone we encounter is dealing with some kind of turmoil, and they all deserve our kindness.

Please say a prayer...

for my very good friend in FL. Her hubby is having surgery as I type.

Thanks all, I'll let you know how it goes!


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UPDATE:

Thanks for the prayers. The surgery went well, and he *should* be on his way home tomorrow!