Miscellaneous

I was finally able to get a lot more laps in today. Twenty-two!! I have 11 ponytail holders on my pretend swim buoy and lately have been doing about 12 laps. That's terrible considering I was doing 30 before the surgery. The only thing is that these weren't all freestyle strokes. Most of them were, though. I moved all 11 over and then did it all over again for a total of 22. I can't go back now, so tomorrow I'll have to do at least 22 again. I just can't seem to get the dolphin kick. I don't need to do it; I just think that it would be a good core exercise. I've watched videos on GoSwim, but I look real silly doing the drills. I think I need fins.

I'm so glad my heartburn has gone away. There's maybe just a touch of it left, but not bothersome like it was. I probably should take the Zantac every morning anyway.

Sack had her first basketball game last Saturday morning. They tied at 8. I didn't know they would end it in a tie! She fell down once and fought for the ball once, too! She plays with 2 others girls from Natcher and the other 5 are from Briarwood.

Igle had cataract surgery yesterday. His blood pressure went way up and they couldn't let him leave until it went down. They tried having him empty his bladder (!), putting some medicine in his I.V. and then, finally, giving him Tylenol and that's what worked. Who knew Tylenol could lower your blood pressure?

My hair is getting long! Longer than it's been in over 20 years. I have a pic of DH and I being the MC's at the Homecoming and it's touching my shoulders. That was just a few years ago. It is now touching my shoulders and then some. It's showing more gray than I'd like around my face. But the color doesn't seem to be noticeable at the roots, so I don't really wanna pay big bucks right now.

Until next time...

Let's Move Our Focus From My Foot To More Important Things

Okay, I've gone on and on about my foot surgery. I remember so well setting the date for the surgery and thinking, "I wish it would hurry up and get here". Now it's been a month since I had it done! So, let's be done with "reminiscing" with this last post. The only time I limp is in the mornings (habit, I think) and when I walk barefoot on a floor w/o carpet. Mostly, this is at the pool. I wince in anticipation of the pain. Of course, it's not like the pain I had before. It's kinda worse in one respect because I keep thinking I'm going to damage either my tender foot insides that were moved around or the incision (which has healed nicely). It's just so wonderful that I can now wear a pair of shoes that would've been hurting my foot before I got out the door! The weird thing is that every now and then I get the same "click" in my right foot that I had in my left foot for so long. It's a "mulder's click" that indicates you have a neuroma. Well, time will tell if that foot also has one. Here is a video I made recounting my recovery. I left out the day I was able to go to the pool. Of course, I couldn't video or take pictures of anything past the "pre-surgery room". So, those memories will remain in my head. For awhile, anyway. Here it is!

Almost Four Weeks After Surgery

I can't believe it's been almost 4 weeks. I'm walking better, of course. It's a little uncomfortable with no shoes on unless I'm on carpet. Today at church, I didn't even notice myself limping! But it is hard to get my black, shiny dress shoes on so I'm thinking the foot is still just a tad bit swollen. Not enough to notice by comparing both feet, but by putting on a slightly tight shoe. All the pieces of steri-strip have come off but it still feels like a layer of adhesive or something. I've been to the pool 4 times since the stitches came out. I had to miss 2 days this past week because of Thanksgiving. Can't wait to swim tomorrow!

Three Weeks!

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since the surgery. I'm walking much better. I have looked on youtube and different websites for physical therapy and have been doing them. I talked to the dad of a friend of Lacey's at school and he's a physical therapist. He said, "You don't want to lose the instrinsic muscle strength in your toes". I thought, "Now, why didn't Dr. P tell me this?" I mean, this is something that could affect me the rest of my life. You know, like be an annoyance.

The steri-strips are coming off more slowly now. When I kick in the pool, I can feel a little bit of pulling. Now, though, the pool is closed until next Monday and I don't think I'll be able to stand it! I was doing SO good!! I've been kicking halfway and then walking to the other end and back to the middle and then kicking back to the starting point. Then I'll go from the end to the middle on 1 breath, stop and go again the rest of the way. Nine laps total yesterday doing that and 9 laps today doing that. Oh, and I did 1 lap of freestyle. Believe it or not, that was easier than breaststroke because the kick for breaststroke makes the water move the steri-strip and hurt a little.

Here's a not so pretty picture (the toes) of my foot at 3 weeks:

Two Weeks, Two Days

I'm walking better, but not like I want. My calf is either tight, injured, re-injured, atrophy-ed (sp?) or something. If I walk a lot and use the calf to push off, it will eventually cramp almost like a charley horse. This is the same leg that I ruined in high school while running too long.

The good news is that I swam today! Only 25 minutes and no real swimming, just kicking a few laps and a bit of breaststroke. Also pushing off from the floor and the wall. I forgot my goggles so I wore a pair that were hanging on the RACE board. Now I have raccoon eyes bad.

Still don't have the washing machine fixed. Igle and Flo came over last night to give Sack her birthday present and he and I looked at it. I will have to continue stabilizing the drum when it spins.

Sack's production of "Snow White" is tonight!

A Week and One Day After Surgery

I've made a lot of progress since I last posted! I am wearing Crocs only now! Hopefully I'll be able to wear tennis shoes tomorrow! I'm putting a bit more pressure on the front of my foot now, too. There's still a little bit of tingle/discomfort, though. I'm glad that I took the pain pills for only 2 days and one of those days was the day I had surgery!

One strange thing that has happened to me is that I was getting sweaty and then cold on Saturday and Sunday. Like I had a fever but I didn't. Every now and then I get that weird feeling when I turn my head and eyes at the same time, like when I was trying to get off of Zoloft. I really don't like that. I'm hoping it's a side effect of being under general anesthesia.

I get the (4) stitches out tomorrow and I'm dreading it. Ew! However, I'm hoping he will let me take pictures and/or video it. That will give me something to think about. The "thread" used is heavy and thick. That scares me.

I remembered another thing that happened in the OR. The nurse had a strap on top of my waist (?) and was buckling it. I thought of how it looked like someone putting a saddle on a horse and I told her that. I know she was on my right, the nurse anesthetist was behind me and the surgical assistant was to my left at my feet. It was a big room, from what I remember. I also looked up what they gave me out in the hall that made me reeeelaaaaax. Versed. Pronounced "ver-said". There's something else in with it, too. At least that's what an anesthesia website said. I read propofol somewhere, too. EW! Michael Jackson!

So, I'm thankful I'm doing so well. I've read a lot of horror stories on the internet.

Day Four. 11 AM.

Missed yesterday because I was thinking about getting ready for the 9 hour adventure that was going to Nashville to eat and see "Wicked". I used the crutches the whole time and today my hands are hurting! I thought I had put the post-op shoe in the van but I didn't. I wanted it after getting so tired of the crutches. We ate at Cheesecake Factory and the floor was slick. I had to just limp. I felt so silly on the crutches when I can really walk decently with the shoe. We left at 3:45and got home at 1. I thought for sure I would sleep non-stop but I got up once to go to the bathroom and then DH came in making a lot of noise and then, when he left, he left the bathroom door open a little bit and it was bright in the room. My 3 canker sores on the inside of my lower lip are hurting worse than my foot! UGH! Can't believe I have 3!

Today our SS class is having a fish fry and then there's an exhibition game at WKU afterwards. Actually, we'll have to leave after just an hour or so. I so don't want to go. I'm just so tired of limping and my foot hurting not to mention my lip hurting. DH is at choir practice, then Sire has a game at Phil Moore, then a WKU football game, then fish fry and finally, basketball game. I'd be glad to not do any of it. I'm also tired of my foot being cold.

Last night my foot was hurting like someone was touching it with a needle and pushing it in just a little bit. Not so much aching. I can't move my toes around like you would normally do to wake them up and get the blood flowing. I hope that in a couple of weeks I'll be so glad I had the surgery.

Day Two. 8 PM.

Here's what my foot looks like!

Today I've been drug-free. Well, hydrocodone-free. Took 2 Advils at breakfast, lunch and supper. I'm contemplating taking the harder stuff before bed but my foot isn't really hurting, so I guess I won't.

I took a shower after I took the ACE bandage off. There was another wrap made out of cotton and then there was a bunch of gauze under that. I put 2 small Band-Aids on the incision and then put a sock on. So now it's a little bit warmer. I washed dishes and DH was so surprised that he put them away! We got the top of the washing machine put back on and washed a load of clothes. I drove to McDonald's and got supper for me and Sack. It wasn't really very good. I think my foot is swelling so I have it propped up again.

I edited some video we took in Florida and some video/pictures of my foot. I'll finalize the Florida video but not the one of my foot because I want to continue taking pix of it and add to it.

Day Two. 10 AM.

Well, I slept good! Don't think I woke up any during the night! Woke up at 6:40 and realized I might need to try to get Cobb up but I heard her in the kitchen before I got up the gumption to get up. Then, I went back to sleep until 7:15 or so! Sack got up late and, of course, said it was my fault when she knew I wouldn't be able to help much. It was raining hard when it was time to leave and Sire didn't really want to drive her but I insisted and finally he saw the light.

I took the bandage off! All of them! The stitch is ug-lee. My 2nd and 3rd toes are bruised. I was surprised. Little bit of bruising on the top of my foot. Can't imagine what it's going to look like when it all heals. Now, however, I don't really want to get up. I was walking pretty good before, with the ACE bandage on it. I need to take a shower!!! I don't really want to stand on 1 foot in the shower, though! So, I thought I might take a bath and keep my foot/leg out of the tub, but that's a lot of work, too, and I don't really think I'll get as clean in the bathtub. It feels weird to move my toes now that they are naked. I really don't think I'll be moving them very much at all until the stitches come out. I just wish I knew how long I'll need to take pain medicine whether it be hydrocodone or Advil. Hydrocodone seems like overkill. I just don't know!

Last night I inhaled a bit of water and got choked. Well, not choked like I needed the Heimlich Maneuver, but just coughing it out. I really and truly think it is because I had that tube down my throat for the airway during surgery. Gosh, it just seems like such a big ordeal just to take out that nerve! I've been thinking, "What have I gotten myself into".

Day One. 9 PM.

I just took a whole pain pill and 1 Advil. My foot is beginning to hurt. My mind has been clear all evening so now it's going to get foggy. I hope I sleep all night tonight. I'm so tempted to take the ACE bandage off but I guess I'll wait until tomorrow. I think there's a sleeve under the ACE bandage. I just wish I knew what to do and how to do it! I can walk on my heel pretty good now. I don't think I'll be able to do that with a shoe (any shoe) on. I've had on these clothes since yesterday morning! I think I look good in it, though. It's my yellow/orange NIKE shirt and navy blue gym shorts that have a wide, white stripe at the bottom. And NIKE sock, of course. Notice that "sock" is singular! I guess I'll walk on my heel from now on unless it hurts. Or, maybe, after I take off the ACE bandage, I'll need the crutches. See? This is why there were written instructions on what is best to do!

I finally got one video done. I started to upload it to youtube but it said around 500 minutes to send! I need to put it on a dvd, for sure. Since the video editing software I downloaded worked so good, that's what I'll do tomorrow. Also, editing pictures. I ordered 33 on walmart.com that I had sent a while back. I've GOT to get these pictures and videos done!!

I hope I have good news on my next post!

Day One. 6 PM.

I'm feeling like I'm not in a "fog" as much and, fortunately, not in a lot of pain. I took half a pain pill and 1 Advil after lunch. That made me sleep for a while. I still feel a little weird but not nearly as much. I'll probably eat soon and take a pain pill before I go to bed. I don't want a repeat of last night. I can put weight on my heel and walk without the "shoe". It's a little different to put weight on my heel with the shoe on. It's like the ACE bandage rubs a little bit on either the bandage over the stitches or over the stitches themselves. So, I sort of don't want to move it too much. I wish there had been a sheet of instruction for what to do with my foot. Like, wiggle your toes as much as possible, or manually bend your toes back and forth, or put increasingly more weight on your foot (heel or front of foot) as the day goes on. I'd like a schedule to follow instead of just, "see how you feel" to determine how much you can do. I don't know if it's bad for my foot if I put too much weight on it or what! Walking with the crutches is so much easier than I thought it would be. It's like, since I HAVE to walk with them, it feels better. I've been letting my left foot touch the floor when walking with them instead of holding it up. So, there's just a little bit of weight.

Day One. 4 PM

Took an antihistamine for the itching. It wasn't too bad to begin with but I didn't want it to get worse. I ate my regular lunch and then later I laid down and slept for a while. Sire came home and hollered his famous, "Hey, How ya'll doin'?" and startled me. He startled me again when he left. Cobb came home and I was sitting up and awake and I got startled again when she came in. I had just been up to use the bathroom and get some 3 Musketeers in the freezer. My foot was turning blue! I hadn't been up that long! I'm dying to eat the 3 Musketeers but I'll have to stay in the kitchen in order to eat each one frozen.

Mr. Cat is a little bit afraid of my crutches! It's cute. Except for when I'm going to feed him. Then, he puts up with them. I sure wish he'd come sit in my lap the way he did to DH when he had his colonoscopy. Still don't understand why I have these bruises/sore spots. When I scratch my head, it's right on the bruise.

I had hoped to edit pictures and videos while sitting on the couch. But I couldn't find the video editing software to put on the laptop. So I d/l a trial one. I made a rough draft and it's been saving it as a wmv file for a few hours now! I don't know what that means. It could be better than EMC9 and be better quality or it could be that it just takes forever and it's not any better. It's just a 10 minute video. I didn't make any text on it; it was just a test. I shouldn't have put all those video clips in it.

I thought I had already mentioned this, but my dad has prostate cancer. Both sides. He went to the dr. Monday and they both really like him and said that since it's slow growing, something else would kill him before the cancer would. Not sure what he's going to do but he's been tired lately and taking a lot of naps and the radiation will make him even more tired. Today my mom called to see how I was and she was all nervous because their crackpot neighbor called from a mental hospital and needed some papers from her house. She also said my dad was sick with Lady Di and a fever so she called my sister to help and she got Jake to come over to go with her. I called later to see how that went and she sounded more normal except that when she called the neighbor in the mental hospital she said she didn't need it instead. So, she was a little ticked off.

Can't believe how fast this day has gone. I had really hoped to get somewhere with these videos and pictures. Maybe later.

Day One. 9 AM.

I didn't sleep real good last night. I woke up about every hour. The pain in my foot is what woke me up even though it wasn't really all that bad. I finally realized that I needed to take a pain pill. It didn't help like it did during the day yesterday. I think part of the pain was because my foot wasn't propped up like it should have been. I just put the shoe on and walked to the bathroom and it was hard. I like the crutches better. I didn't think I'd like the crutches because it takes so long to go somewhere but it's better than hopping/limping. So, I've had my regular, good breakfast and I've taken a pain pill. At first I didn't think I would be groggy but now, an hour later, it is making me a little bit groggy. But I wanted to get caught up on this, mail, facebook, WWF, etc. before I close my eyes for a while.

Some things I didn't expect were bruises (or, it feels like bruise; I haven't looked at it yet) 1) under my chin, 2) on my chest and 3) on the back of my head. I'm wondering if 1) the nurse anesthetist put too much pressure when she "cocked" my head back and pulled up on my chin really hard, 2) maybe they set something on my chest that was real heavy and 3) my head was on a hard surface and not on a pillow. I keep forgetting to look in the mirror when I'm up. When Sire gets up I have a few things I need him to do, including looking to see if these are really bruises. Oh, and I also have a place on the inside of my lower lip on the left side. I'm glad it isn't a fever blister.

I just don't know if I need to be wiggling my toes or not. It hurts more than yesterday to do so. It seems like wiggling them would help healing because it would increase blood flow (even just a little), but I don't know.

I've been itching a little bit. That probably means I shouldn't take hydrocodone. That happens to my mom. No rash or anything but it's annoying having to scratch so much. That may have been what woke me up so much.

TTYL

Almost Bedtime

I've managed to stay awake until 9:40 and am about to go to bed. Someone on fb said to wait I needed it because it would give me "weird sleep" and cause bad dreams. And I believe it, too because earlier, as I was sitting up on the couch, I was drifting in and out of sleep and was having "dreams" that were weird. Seemed strange to dream when I could hear things going on around me. Anyway, my last pill was at 4:30. I ate 4 Ores at 8:30 thinking I would take the next pill then but decided not to take it. I just can't decide when to take the next one. Probably will wait until the middle of the night. I'm not really having any pain right now, just a little bit uncomfortable with the ACE bandage so tight. So, we'll see what happens in the next 12 or so hours!

Ten Hours Post-Op

Okay, so now it's been about 10 hours. I've slept a little. I've eaten Mickey D's. I've watched "Little House on the Praire" and now I'm about to watch "The Amazing Race" since I didn't get it all recorded Sunday night. I still feel sleepy but I can't go to sleep yet. This afternoon has dragged on. When I woke up I thought I had slept over an hour but it was only about 30 minutes. My foot started to hurt a little but it felt like the Ace bandage was too tight. It was time for a pain pill so DH got supper for me and I took it and feel better now. I'm sort of looking forward to having the house to myself tomorrow but I'd like someone here to get things for me and to have someone to talk to about my pain and stuff like that. Like, just talk to them about what I've done and what to do next. Sack hasn't been in a very polite mood. She's all mad about not knowing what to write down on her science homework. She's been doing cartwheels in the family room and making me nervous.

I've known this all along, but now, being in the situation firsthand, I believe it even more: call and/or visit friends who have had surgery and offer to help them. Like, if someone came over to bring food or just to see how I was, it'd be WONDERFUL if they said, "I'm going to wash those dishes in the sink for you." Or something along those lines. Just anything.

I'm having trouble keeping my eyes open. I'm typing this while the first 15 minutes of "TAR" runs. That's where my VCR got switched to Disney Channel. I feel sleepy and not sleepy at the same time. Like, I can carry on a normal conversation but I think I could also konk out. Oh, and walking on crutches is going well. I think I want to use them just to be safe.

Oh great! A student just came and I told her we weren't having piano today. I was sitting here halfway watching TAR and opening and closing my eyes. I heard the door open and close a little over and over and thought it was DH coming in from setting the sprinklers in the yard. I finally looked to see what he was doing and saw her. I had to stop and think, "This is Tuesday. I usually teach piano on Tuesdays. It's 6:30. This girl is usually here on Tuesdays at 6:30." I said, "Oh, hi. We don't have piano today because I had surgery. Tell your dad my email said Tuesday November 1". I was afraid this might happen because this family didn't come last week. I just wish the house had been dark and the door had been closed. Surely they suspected something when they saw the lights were off in the piano room.

Okay, so I've just eaten 6 mini Tootsie Rolls and they have picked me up!

Six hours post-op

About 6 hours after having a general anesthesia and going under the knife and I'm doing great! Dana and Tom came to see me before I was wheeled back. I was a little overwhelmed by the OR waiting area because I was lying there alone and it wasn't a very attractive and started to cry. Finally a nurse assigned to me came to introduce herself and noticed the tears. She comforted me and then a friend (and also the mom of one of my stuents) came to see me and hugged me. I didn't like the way my IV felt and I was cold. When I awoke in recovery, I was real sleepy and didn't want to wake up or talk but the nurse was right there next to me and I felt like I had to be polite and make small talk. She got me some ice and so that was good. I went to the next room and DH met me there. I ate some crackers and drank water. I wasn't in there long and then it was time to go home! We went to Rite Aid and then Target. I laid back in the van and it felt so good. By the time we got home I was a little hungry and ate some bread and milk and took my pain pill. It's Lortab. I laid down on the couch and put the eye mask on while DH ate lunch with Sack. My mom came over during that time. When DH got back from lunch, he said he'd go to Wal-mart and Kroger. Sire came home during that time and left for basketball practice soon after. I ate a few fun-size 3 Musketeers and they were so good! Frozen, of course. I've used the crutches and they are much easier to use now that I really need them. I'm thankful for that! Sack will be home soon. I hope she's not ticked off about me not being able to take her to school this morning. I hope to have some pictures up soon. Oh, I have a post-surgical shoe on. The sole is white and the upper part is black with 2 velcro strips. My toes are showing. I dread the feeling coming back in my foot. :(

Morton's Neuroma Surgery!

Tomorrow I'm having my Morton's neuroma removed! What is that, you may ask. From mortonsneuroma dot net, it says:
"Morton’s Neuroma is a condition where there is an enlarged nerve occurring between the third and fourth toes. This junction where two nerves meet each other could be quite a problem for some people because it is bigger in size than the meeting points of other nerves."

I have crutches to use if I need them. I probably won't want to use them because it takes so long to get around. DH is going to drop me off at Greenview, take Sack to school, go to Target to get half-price Halloween candy and then come back to the hospital. By then, I'll probably have already done all the scary stuff and won't need him! I don't understand why you have to be there 2 hours before. I can't have anything to drink after 5:30 so it's going to be hard to wake up and not drink any water.

Saturday, I made up tomorrow's lessons as well as today's lessons who will miss because of Halloween. Then, next week, I only have students on Monday because the next day is Election Day and I had already canceled lessons for that day.

Well, that's it for now!

Been too long!

Gosh, it has been too long! The weather is getting cooler and I don't really like it. The only good thing about winter is that spring comes next. After putting up with this pain/discomfort in my left foot, I'm getting the Morton's neuroma taken out! Sire's stay at the hospital back in February cause us to meet our health insurance deductible so now it pays 90% of everything! Yay! The bad thing is that the only day that I could have it done at Greenview (the cheapest, I called around!) and that DH could take off was a Tuesday and I have to schedule group lessons for most of my students! I think I'm going to have to wear a very ugly post-surgery shoe afterward. Ew. I will also have numbness in my 3rd and 4th toes permanently. Not looking forward to that, but I will be able to wear all my shoes again. Oh, and I can't swim until sometime after the stitches come out. I can shower, but just can't soak my foot or get it in chlorine water. Oh, the worst, worst, worst thing is that I probably won't be able to mow the yard! The brake is on the left side! Boooooo!

Well, 3 days after that, my sister is taking me, her daughter and my 2 girls to see Wicked in Nashville! We have to take our van, but sissy will have to drive. I probably won't feel like driving. I don't know, maybe I will. And, the next week, I have students only on Monday because the next day is election day and I don't have students that day. Yay! I'm thinking that, if I still need to prop my foot up, I'll either have to turn to the right (sort of away from the student) or sit on the other side of the piano. If I do, it'll be hard to keep from getting up to reach the keys. We will see!

Well, we planned to have our grass killed and then have the yard power seeded. We've been watering a bunch since last week. The bad thing is that he waited so long to come seed that weeds grew back! So, now we're watering the weeds along with the new grass! I really don't like it at all. The front yard looks awful. There are big patches of this weed that is like little leaves in the shape of flowers.

On a more positive note, we are getting new carpet! From THE Home Depot. Not just Home Depot. THE Home Depot. Notice the "The" the next time you drive by it. Wow, I just used the word "the" 3 times in a row on the same sentence! A guy came to measure yesterday and they called today with the quote but we weren't home and I forgot to call them back. We will be using some of our tax refund money to pay for it. Tax refund money is also going to pay for 10% part of the surgery.

Cobb made all A's and B's except for one class. Me and the Moms in Touch moms are praying about this. Sack made all A's and B's. First year for letter grades!

Today is DH's 52nd birthday! That means I'll soon be 48. Oh, and speak of growing old, I'm so glad that I swim to stay (well, sort of) fit. I'm up to 20 laps of all freestyle. Yesterday I swam 30 laps to make up for what I'll miss after surgery. But some laps were backstroke and breastroke.

That's all for now. I DO plan on posting again soon.

It's my turn!

The title should be read with a sarcastic tone.
Monday, the 11th, during piano lessons, I noticed my throat was hurting just a little. By 7:30, when my last student left, I was hungry and, for some reason, I was at home with the 2 girls. I had to whisper because it hurt so bad. My ears had started hurting when I woke the next morning. I felt better as the day went on, but by day's end, my throat was beginning to hurt. Plus, I was clearing my throat quite a bit during piano. More than one student thought I was clearing my throat everytime they made a mistake! It was a bit funny, and I said, "Oh, no, no, no. Just clearing my throat!" I was thankful no student asked me if I was sick!

Wednesday morning, my throat hurt so bad that I couldn't go to Moms in Touch. A really bad thing to miss because I need focused prayer on Cobb. I felt better throughout the day and knew I'd be okay to go to church for 8th grade D-Group. It went well, for which I was thankful. My throat was hurting, however, and I was coughing. No fever at all during all this so I saw no reason to go to the dr. Of course, I went to bed with a sore throat and hurting ears.

Thursday was the same, and Sack had her debut performance in Charlotte's Web as Templeton. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel awful. I wanted to interact with the other moms and the kids in the play, but I felt as though I might be contagious and didn't want to get them sick or make me worse. I felt bad that I wasn't helping. Cobb and I sat in the seats saving them for the rest of our family. Sack did great and it was good. We went to Culver's afterwards and DH had to go to rehearsal at VanMeter for the Sandi Patty concert that was last night. I don't really like the burgers at Culver's even though that's their claim to fame. I thought I'd get a hot dog (bleh) but they don't have them! So, I just drank water to help my throat and ate Oreos when I got home!

Friday, I don't remember what I did around the house, but I'm sure it wasn't enough to make a difference because as soon as I get things straightened and cleaned, someone comes along behind me and messes it up. My ears were beginning to hurt more by now. Sack wanted to go see the Blue cast perform Charlotte's Web, so we went there at 5. It started at 6. They did real well and it was interesting to see who was better and who wasn't. I was thankful I felt like going.

Saturday, church had a block party at Plano and DH, Sire and Cobb went to work at it. Sack had a friend over to play. That worked out real well because it was after lunch so I didn't have to make lunch for them and possibly get them sick. Mind you, I didn't have a fever, just a little sore throat and ear pain. My sinuses on the left side were beginning to get filled up and a bit painful. Sack had her 2nd performance that night and it went great, too. My parents, sister and nephew came to see her and it was all great. We went to Culver's again afterwards. I told DH that I probably wouldn't be able to go to church the next morning since I'm always worse at night and in the mornings.

Sure enough, Sunday morning was as bad if not worse than all the other days. By Sunday night, my sinuses were hurting so bad that I was crying and I took one of Sire's hydrocodones (that he got after his surgery) at 10 PM. At 4 AM, I awoke to more pain, so I got up, ate some crackers in the family room and took another one. It took the edge off, but there was still so much pressure in my sinuses. It was like the sinus pain had won over the ear pain and throat pain, but it was a close race.

Monday morning, I called the dr. and got in at 9:30. She gave me an Rx for Augmentin and said to continue taking Mucinex-D. I was thankful I got in so early in the morning. I tested negative for strep so she treated me for a sinus infection. She said my ears didn't look bad, just pressure on them from my sinuses or whatever/however that works. I also took some Sudafed which I learned later was the wrong thing to take. I had to cancel all students for Monday afternoon. At noon, I took a hydrocodone and an hour and a half later, I was still hurting real bad, so I took another one! DH was gone to the Sandi Patty concert and I didn't do much that evening, but at bedtime, I was crying and asked Cobb to get me some cookies and milk and she did it, but she laughed at me. So rude and disrespectful. She just wasn't taking me seriously. Sometimes I don't know what I have to do to get my family to understand that I have feelings, too! Ugh. So, that night, I took DH's hydrocodone which was a 10/650 (whatever that means, but Sire's was 7.5/325) so I'm thinking it was a double dose. However, about 6 hours later, I awoke to continued pain. I ate some bread in the family room and popped another 10/650 hydrocodone pill.

Tuesday morning, Cobb was in bed with me, as usual, so that I can poke at and prod her to get up. However, after doing it twice, I pressed OFF on my alarm instead of SNOOZE and I went back to sleep. DH came in from running at 6:45 and I realized that she was still asleep! Needless to say, she missed the bus and DH had to drive her to school. After I dragged myself up to eat breakfast, fix Sack's hair and lunch and snack, I came home crying worse than I had cried before. I called the dr. and left a message at around 8:05 for the nurse to return my call. I sat on my bed, crying, with my phone next to me. At 8:30, they still hadn't called, so I called back and pressed "1" to make an appointment and told her (while bawling) that I had called and I was in so much pain, I just couldn't wait and what could she do. She promptly connected me to the nurse and she said come right in, for which I was thankful. Well, I had already had a 10/650 with my breakfast (that's 3 of them in less than 12 hours!), so I didn't think I should drive all the way to the dr. So, Sire took me and m.i.l. picked me up. I sat in the waiting room with my face in my hands, crying and sniffling. I thought for sure someone in the waiting room would say, "Oh, let her go in front of me" when the nurse called their name. But, that didn't happen. Finally, she called me back and I told her what was going on between crying spells. Oxygen, pulse and temp. were good. Dr. came in and I had to go through it all over again while crying. Luckily, I came out with a strong antibiotic shot and a cortisone (steroid?) shot and 4 prescriptions. My m.i.l. took me to Rite-Aid. I had to go inside, limping because of the shots, because her car windows don't roll down. Of the 4 things he prescribed, I didn't get the hydrocodone 10/650 Rx since we have some at home. I didn't get one of the nasal sprays because it was $124!!! Crazy, huh? I did get the OTC nasal spray that he wanted me to get and I got the store brand and it was buy one, get one free! Wow! I felt lucky! The other Rx was 800 mg of ibuprofen and it was just $4! We left Rite-Aid and I held my breath and asked m.i.l. if she would take me to Wal-Mart so I could get bread and ham. Yesterday, I had no ham and had to eat a peanut butter sandwich. She said yes, and the guy in the deli was slow, slow, slow. Anyway, she was patient and didn't mind so I was thankful. I got home, ate lunch, took my pills and also gave myself a shot in the nose with the spray. I felt so much better after I ate! Sire wiped some counters down, put his sisters' shoes away and put a few other things away. He wanted to start the dishwasher, but when I told him the dishes needed to be straightened inside it, he said forget it. I was thankful that he was wanting to help. I was sleepy, but it was a good kind of sleepy, not a feel awful type of sleepy. So, at 12:15, I laid down and slept on and off until Sire came home from his last class. Cobb came home around 3:10 and I stayed in the bed until about 3:15, which was right before Sack came home. Sack came looking for me to see how I was. By 5:00 or so, I was starting to hurt and wondered how I could be hurting after I had felt so good before. So, here I am, I've taken all 3 ibuprofens like I was supposed to, I've taken all 3 antibiotics like I was supposed to, gotten 2 nasal sprays in my nose like I was supposed to and took 1 10/650 hydrocodone to take the edge off. Oh, and I have a slight fever. During all this, I've been taking my temperature and I think my normal temperature is 98.2. Tonight it was 99.4. So, that's over a degree higher than my normal. I think that's like 100 degrees to most people. But the strange thing is that I don't feel like I have a fever. Just a little weird. Usually a fever knocks me down for a while and then it takes a couple of days to recover from it. So, I'm thankful that I still have a sense of humor and I can still participate in conversations with my family.

Since I got that steroid shot, I'm thinking I might not sleep well tonight. Especially since I slept so much this afternoon. I haven't had a shower since Saturday! That's awful! I feel so gross.

At this moment, I still feel like I've been "hit by a mac truck" as they say, but I'm hoping that I'll feel better when I wake up. I seriously don't think I'll be able to make it to Moms in Touch. I'm hoping to make up 8 lessons tomorrow afternoon, but if I have the slightest bit of pain tomorrow morning, I'm going to have to cancel them. Not just reschedule them, cancel them. And that's an awful thing for a piano teacher. I've always prayed to not be sick on a Monday or a Tuesday and last Monday and Tuesday I wasn't "sick". But I began the sickness then and who would've ever thought that I'd still be sick now, a week later?

All my prayers have been answered like I had prayed. Now to pray for my students and their parents.

Let's see how much medicines we can take!

Zoloft Why is it that you take more medicine the older you get? I never took anything but Tylenol before Lacey was born. I knew I'd have PPD, so my dr. prescribed an anti-depressant. It changed my life so much for the better! I didn't cry for no reason. I was thrilled with my new baby and it showed. And it didn't stop with just "the new baby". A few months later, I realized that things didn't bother me as much. I didn't get down about bad news. At each yearly visit to my dr., I said that I feel so much better. Nine years later, I'm still on it! While praying about it, I tried to wean myself from it a few years ago and it didn't work. I realized I needed it like a person with high blood pressure needs their b.p. medicine. God uses medicine to help you. It's not saying that God can't heal you completely from it, it's just, well, you know, part of His plan. The only bad thing about taking it is that I read somewhere that most people on it put on 5-10 pounds!

Multi-vitamin I asked a long-time childhood friend who is a pharmacist about taking vitamins and she said you ought to get your vitamins in food, not a pill. So, I delayed taking a multi-vitamin for years. Well, I'm a picky eater on top of the fact that I've never liked "healthy" food. So, I got in the habit of taking a multi-vitamin. It's one for women. They say it can make you constipated and I think I read that it makes it hard to lose weight when you're on it. That's okay, I'm active enough!

Librax After years of having diarrhea after eating certain foods and getting sick and tired of it, I went to my dr. a he told me exactly what I suspected after googling it. I have IBS-D. It didn't happen after every meal. Only ones that included Sprite and greasy foods. Two greasy foods that I like are fried chicken (fingers, not parts) and Lays or Ruffles. At a family reunion in TN one summer, I had both of those along with 2 Sprites! We were the last people to leave because I kept running to the bathroom. So, I take my little yellow green pill before I eat anything that I think might give me "Lady Di". I'm thankful for that little yellow pill!

Omeprazole This is also known as Prilosec. After Sire's medical scare, I noticed a tightness/pressure/strange feeling in my upper chest/lower throat. It went on for 2 weeks and I finally went to the dr. about it. He said he didn't think it was cardiac related but did an EKG anyway and it was normal. I'd never had an EKG before and I thought maybe I'd have to go to some clinic to have it done. I wondered how much it would cost extra. He left the room and I wondered what I was supposed to do, but he left the door open and I figured I should stay put until a nurse came with either an EKG machine or another patient. She came in and hooked me up. So, the dr. said it must be acid reflux and prescribed this Rx strength Prilosec. I've been on it for 4 days now and it's much better. I can still feel the pressure/tightness/strange feeling, though. He said it'd take about 10 days to notice so I got some peppermint Tums but you're supposed to chew them (yuck) so I suck on them. I might break them up and swallow them.

In summary, it seems like the older a person gets, the more they go to the dr., which means the more medicine they take. Not to mention the fact that I saw mostly elderly people at all the drs. I've been to lately taking either myself or Perry!

What a mess!

Boy, there are areas in the basement that are soooo messy. Well, most of the areas in the basement are messy. But, that's what we made it for. It's unfinished, rain leaks in 2 corners sometimes, there are centipedes when I don't spray the bug killer and there's very old furniture. The upstairs looks pretty good most of the time. When we moved here 10 years ago, we put toys, DH's office, a t.v., a couch, a recliner, our old kitchen table and chairs, our old china cabinet, the sewing machine, ironing board, chest of drawers for my crafty stuff, the treadmill, keepsake boxes for the children and holiday decorations down there. All that stuff is still there, but much more has been added. Like, another computer, a long table for it and another printer, 2 copy machines, another t.v. right next to the one we already had, 6 sets of shelves for all kinds of stuff, another recliner, a ping pong table, an arcade style basketball goal and more old furniture that my dad got for free from Western and we couldn't say no. I do get areas straightened up every now and then and I say I'm going to keep it that way, but it always goes back to being messy. I just can't put things away. I put them down instead of putting them where they belong. I heard on Focus on the Family a loooong time ago someone said to put signs around your house saying, "Don't put it down, put it away." I did that in our first house and maybe the 2nd house. It worked for me for a while. I guess it's because company doesn't go in the basement except for kids' friends. They don't qualify as company, do they? Well, they do when they're upstairs.

End of the week

Well, this was a pretty productive week considering I had a 14 year old girl at home with a bad sinus infection and an 18 year old boy recovering from 2 minor surgeries. Sire required (crushed) ice packs a couple of times a day in his nether regions. He went to FBC for the first night of CBA games and sat in a wheelchair borrowed from church. A friend took him. Wednesday night, we went to church and were there only a little bit over an hour. Thursday night, he went to the CBA games again and Cobb and I went, too, to watch one of our church's teams. The big thing I accomplished this week was my closet shelves. There are 6 of them and I threw away a bunch of stuff and put a bunch of stuff in the yard sale pile in the unfinished storage. The rest, I organized or put it where it belongs. When Sack came home yesterday, she was glad to see it. She's always telling me to straighten the house!

How we spent our tax refund check.

When it rains, it pours.
AFTER THE GAME After a wild ballgame Thursday night, Sire came up in a bit of pain saying he had "strained his vocal cords". He had some discomfort in his lower abdomen, needed to go to the bathroom and was chuckling about how strange this was. It quickly progressed into something very serious. He couldn't stand up straight. DH and Cobb went to get the car. Sire had to lay down right there in the arena (no one really noticed) until he could walk to the elevator. When we got out of the elevator and by the exit door, I said I'd get a chair for him to sit in, but he took off outside and leaned over the garbage can. DH was on his way down the parking structure. I told Sack that she and I would have to get in the very back of the van so sire could lay down in the middle section. He said he might throw up, so I got a paper bag.
THE TRIP HOME He didn't lay down in the van, he was on his knees with his upper half on the seat. He was writhing around in pain and we kept asking him if he was going to throw up, if he was hot, when did it start, what hurts, etc. The whole way I was thinking that it was something serious but DH was saying he just needed to go home and get in his bed and we'd give him some Phenergan. Cobb was in the front seat and looked at me and mouthed as loud as she could, "He needs to go to the emergency room!" I mouthed back to her, "I know!"
AT HOME When we got home, Sire got out of the van before we got in the garage because it's a straight shot from the van to the door to the house so it's quicker that way. We assumed he'd go to his room. Cobb got a bowl and a piece of paper and wrote, "BARF BOWL" on it and dashed up to his room but he wasn't there. He was on the floor in our room. He got up and fell onto the bed but that didn't help. I ran for the bathroom to get the thermometer and he was in so much pain, he couldn't hold it in there. Even if I had tried to keep it in his mouth, it wouldn't have worked. I called m.i.l. and said I thought we should go to the ER but DH said he'd be okay. She said to go. I got off the phone with her and DH expressed his disappointment in me for calling her but then Sire said his boy parts (that's NOT what we call them) were hurting, so we called Dr. Urologist. I was afraid DH would not paint as bad a picture as it really was for Dr. U. so I interjected that Sire said his pain level was a number 9. He handed the phone to Sire and DH said Dr. U. said we needed to go to the hospital and that it sounded like he might need a surgical procedure. Sire talked to Dr. U. in the most polite voice he could with a pain level 9 and handed the phone back to DH. During this time, Sack was upset because she still had "Time for Kids" homework to do and we weren't helping her with it. I explained that Sire had serious pain going on and to not worry about that and that she probably wouldn't be going to school the next day anyway. I called m.i.l. and we tried to work out her or b.i.l. coming to stay with the girls while we went to the hospital but then the girls said they wanted to go, so m.i.l. and b.i.l. said they'd meet us up there.
THE TRIP TO THE HOSPITAL Sire went with DH in a separate car. Sack cried most of the way there because she was still upset about the lack of attention given to her at home and the alleged lack of concern for her homework. Cobb was a great big sister and comforted her even while her little sister verbally assaulted her with the same words she gave to me. While driving to the hospital during a tornado warning (yes, I said warning), 2 fire trucks left their station on Fairview and headed up Lehman and the By-Pass, right next to where we were sitting at the light. I was on the phone with my mom telling her everything that was happening. She even heard the sirens. Of course, the loud sirens didn't help Sack's mood. Not to mention the fact that I wasn't talking to her. DH went straight down the By-Pass and I turned on Lehman to get to the hospital. Therefore, we arrived on opposite sides of the ER building.
ARRIVING AT THE HOSPITAL We parked and ran through the strong winds and the little bit of rain to the ER door. DH's car was parked at the door. Sire was in a wheelchair and DH told me to go move his car. I had the girls stay by the door while I moved his car. When I got back, I found Cobb and Sack trying to keep from crying standing away from the door and noticed the ER waiting room was deserted as was the ER front desk. Right next to the girls was the "Quiet Room" for families who, I guess, have someone who is about to die or already died and they need a quiet room. I had been in there once before when I took my dad up there and he insisted on laying down flat on his back because of back pain and the hospital employees didn't think it looked good for him to be in this position in the waiting room. So, we went in there and they told me the story of what had happened while they bawled. While I was moving DH's car, one of the nurses had told them they couldn't stand near the door or the windows because of the tornado warning. Instead of saying, "Girls, let's move you away from the window because of the tornado warning", she said, "Oh, no, you girls are not standing this close to the door and windows! There is a tornado warning and you must move away!" And she whisked them away. So, this quiet room was where we camped for a couple of hours while Sire was being evaluated.
IN THE ER DH came out a few minutes later and told me what room Sire was in and by this time, m.i.l. had come so I went to see him. He was in a gown, standing up, upper half on the bed and writhing in pain. The nurse was documenting everything imaginable into the computer and intermittently writing things down and asking questions. It seemed like there needed to be 2 nurses: 1 to nurse her patient and 1 to get the details entered in. But anyway, that's another story. Initially, Dr. U. had said he would meet us in the ER, but what he meant was that his partner would meet us there because he himself wasn't on call and that he would alert the ER staff of this critical emergency so that the ER doctor would take him immediately. It was very fortunate for us to have friends in high places because otherwise, we would've had to wait for an ER doctor and then wait for a urologist on call. The ER doctor's initial assessment was right on: testicular torsion and a hernia. Yes, a double whammy. Given the state of pain Sire was in, it was extremely painful for him to lie down on the bed not mention trying to examine him. The ER doc did a great job trying. The nurse also did a great job inserting Sire's I.V. while he was standing/leaning! He got some morphine and was able to lie down on the bed. They had a mobile ultrasound unit and tech come in to try to see if there was blood flow to the "boy part" in question. They couldn't even find that part. During the scan, m.i.l. switched places with DH. The tech didn't look like much but she was great because of how diligent yet careful she was. At the end she asked, "Is there anything else I can do to help?" That touched me, for some reason. Dr. U. #2 came in and was gentle as well. He explained what testicular torsion is and said that he'd have to get him asleep to further examine the boy parts, that they had called in a surgeon, Dr. S. to come take care of the hernia and that if the boy part in question didn't pink up, they'd have to remove it. Sire had 5 morphine doses in the ER. I signed a few different forms saying I agreed to what they would/might do because "the patient" wasn't able to.
GOING TO SURGERY Cobb, Sack, m.i.l. and b.i.l. all went to see Sire and Sack wrote him a note to have during surgery. Sire was in much less pain and they let us go with him upstairs to surgery area. Meanwhile, the girls and the in-laws were in the waiting area above the ER. They put a hair net on Sire and we signed more forms and listened to more explanations. This nurse was a guy and so was the nurse who took him back. They weren't CNA's, either, they were RN's. The nurse anesthetist was a guy, too. So nice to see men being alert, observant and caring for patients. So, we said our goodbyes and went to the waiting area. We saw a man who looked like he could be a doctor come out of the stairwell and walk toward the surgery area. We thought that it might be our Dr. S.
WAITING ROOM Usually this place is bustling with family members of people in surgery and people waiting to go to the pain clinic but now it was deserted. We had the place to ourselves! I even turned out the lights but the vending machines gave us light to see. We set up camp here while our first born was being put to sleep, had a big tube put down his throat to help him breathe and was being cut open in 3 places to have 3 things repaired. It was midnight. I'd be in my bed in 3 hours. B.i.l. went to get some food for us. Well, he got McDonald's. I just wanted saltine crackers to go with my tap water. The girls were satisfied but I went hungry (normally I'm in bed at this hour and don't know I'm hungry) but I knew I had enough muscle on my body to get energy from. And the girls soon went to sleep in the chairs. We talked about the events of the previous hours and joked around about different things. I'm telling you, at 2AM, my m.i.l. still has it! She really does! If you want someone to joke around with in the middle of the night, she's your woman. When we weren't making jokes, I snooped around the front desk and, all around actually, except for the men's restroom. There is a huge computer monitor on the wall to let you know where your loved one is in the process of surgery: either in surgery or in recovery. Usually it's filled with patient numbers and their status but tonight it just had ghosts of patients, one of whom we were convinced was Sire: Patient #57785-IN surgery, NOT in recovery. It was the only patient in surgery on the board. We waited and waited and waited. There was even a real, working computer that you could use to surf the net while waiting. So, I looked up the doctors who were exploring my son's insides. There was Dr. U. and Dr. S. As I was showing my m.i.l., Dr. S. sneaked up behind me to let me know the outcome of the surgery! I had been caught "stalking"! I looked at him and then back at the computer monitor and said, "Oh, is this you?" He looked and said, "Yeah, that's me!" See? A sense of humor can still be had in the middle of the night. DH and b.i.l. quickly came over and Dr. S. told us all about it. He said it was a hernia, just like they expected and that it was all better now and said something about restrictions and all that. We were just glad he was okay. He said Dr. U. would be out to talk to us soon. After he left, we sat back down to wait for the 2nd report. Dr. U. showed up a few minutes later and said the boy part pinked back up and he "tacked down" both boy parts inside their sac so they would never twist again. He said he needed to stay until on into the morning to make sure he's okay. I was glad about that. I didn't really want to go home and be a nurse in the middle of the night. After some more talk about it, we sat back down to wait for a recovery nurse to call.
RECOVERY We waited much longer than we thought we'd have to so we went to the recovery door and pressed the button. A nice nurse came and we asked what was going on. She said she had talked to Sire and he was real friendly and that she'd call us in a few minutes. We told her we'd just meet him in his room when they called. DH and b.i.l. went to check out his new room away from home and to see if DH would have a bed to sleep on. They said someone else was wanting a bed and they'd do their best. We went back to the girls and m.i.l. and sat back down and discussed what we would do, who would go to his room, where the girls would go, etc. and we changed our minds and went back and told the nice nurse that we'd like for them to call us when they take him to the room. A few minutes later, the phone rang and we all dashed up the hall to see him. I asked if he knew what had happened and he said no and I announced, "It was a boy!" Everyone, including the 2 techies, chuckled. DH went with Sire and the rest of us left to go home and try to sort out the evening's events and maybe get some sleep. DH slept in a hard, straight back chair with his upper half leaned over the air conditioner unit. I wonder who he learned that position from? Meanwhile, "patient #57785" was still in surgery!
TRYING TO SLEEP The girls and I all got in my king-sized bed to try to sleep. I told them they wouldn't go to school the next day until late and to just sleep until they woke up. I fell asleep sometime and was awakened at 7 by DH's alarm clock that was still set to come on. I went back to sleep and was awakened at 9 by DH's text to call him.
FRIDAY I called DH and he said both doctors had come in and one of them said Sire needed to stay until Saturday morning. He had breakfast, lunch and supper and didn't complain about hardly anything except when something hurt. I went up and stayed a few hours while DH got lunch for the girls, took them to school and went home to try to nap. I came home, ate lunch and took Cobb to church because she was leaving for a Leadership Weekend in Hendersonville and then we went back up to the hospital. We had the Chili Supper at Sack's school at 6. We had a much less stressful day considering what had happened 12 hours earlier. We went to the Chili Supper, played games, won a cake at the cake walk, bidded on some silent auction items, browsed books, brought home extra chili, explained Sire's ordeal in as little detail as possible so as to not embarrass people, and went back up to check on him and to put linens on DH's new "bed" they brought him.
SATURDAY Sire came home, sat on the couch, we waited on him and re-grouped. Sack & I went to see The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe mostly because I had 2 students in it but also because Sack really wanted to see it. WKU played on t.v. so m.i.l., b.i.l. and 2 friends came to our house to watch it. Sack and I came home around 8:45 to watch the final minutes of the loss. Soon it was time to pick up Cobb at church and she said she had felt sick all day. Sure enough, she woke up Sunday morning with a fever of 102.1. When it rains, it pours. And then you clean up the water.

This too, shall pass

Sire had emergency surgery last Thursday night and was released from the hospital Saturday morning. Cobb got sick Sunday morning, took her to the doctor Monday morning (sinus infection with all the trimmings) and she missed 2 days of school. I had commitments at church Sunday night, dh had commitments with a choir he's in Sunday night and Monday night. All while dealing with 2 cranky girls and an 18 year old boy who is in pain and can't walk. DH went out of town Tuesday night (last night; took Sack with him) and now Cobb is back at school. So, Monday and Tuesday afternoons, I was ready to teach, but found myself not wanting to put up with what some of my students do (and not do).

Student "A" crosses his legs, drops his wrists on the keyboard and slumps during his lesson. Every time he did it, I corrected him. He probably left not ever wanting to come back. I didn't have much patience for him. Student "B" is just a slow learner (and so is his dad) and I worked him hard on most all his songs, trying to get him to get it right. He means well and I feel sorry for him sometimes, but I didn't have much patience with him and I don't think it showed. Student "C" is precious and knows he's cute, thinks his cuteness will make up for his lack of practice and doesn't realize that he's supposed to be better at his assignments when he comes to his lessons (well, sometimes he does). I was frustrated when he left because we didn't accomplish much. I think the state I was in didn't allow me to look at some students objectively and then deal with it accordingly. I don't even know if that makes sense. Student "D" is a bit ADD and I have to stay on her to keep focused and not tell me about the dog she saw on the way or what she had for lunch or what her dad said when she was practicing, or how many tissues are in a box, etc., etc. Nothing much accomplished that lesson. She probably doesn't even remember what we talked about. Student "E" made my day! ALL her assignments passed with flying colors and they were 1st time assignments! Every one of them! I wanted to hug her and thank her for being so good but I didn't want her to see that I had been frustrated with other students; that would have been TMI. Originally, I wanted to cancel all lessons this week but making them up is next to impossible. Plus, I took off last week as a regularly scheduled off week. I wish I hadn't now! Five more Mondays and Tuesdays and then spring break!