Nearly in the home stretch...

 


Have any of you ever tried harder than you would like to hold a bodily noise from coming out of you?

 
Not the flatulence type, who has control over that?

 
Hiccups, sneezes, and coughs may all come under the category that I am referring to... not as easy as some may think, hmm?
 
Laughing and crying are emotions and I am more than sure at one time or another you have not had total control over stopping  that either?

 
You see, what has come to pass is that the determining factor for my impending eye surgery to take place, is whether or not I can stop myself from coughing for more than a half of an hour. Easy to do for anyone without said cough, but with one it becomes more of a challenge, you can bet your sweet tushy on that one!

 
Timing one's self puts the pressure on, ever notice that?
I guess not if you have not done that particular thing, but if you had, it would be, I would think, nearly the same with anything you were trying to prevent from coming out of you, naturally... vomit comes to mind, sadly, vomit comes to my mind...

 
Any-who, simplicity is nice in life and most would think that going for cataract eye surgery is a walk in the park...
 
And for most it is.
 
But I have never ever done anything easy, statistically, a given, for me, that is.

So this bacterial infection that my doctor told me to continue with the Mucinex indefinitely taking since the Cipro was done Monday, and it has been approved with two of my many prescriptions prior to surgery, my blood pressure, my thyroid and now this OTC one, with a small sip of water to wash all four pills down only! Two of the three are the Mucinex, got it?

Nothing to eat or drink after midnight, but you all know the routine, and yep, I will be under anesthesia for this simplistic surgery that millions go through daily and that I have been through for lefty a little over four years ago.

No difficulties then.

No boatload of meds then either or infections or concern if I will actually be seeing you or not…

My coughing appears to not be as bad as when I lie down then it is a bit worse, and that is what worries me, although I don’t think I should be lying down for this type of surgery!

But when the pre-op nurse who finished my forms with me called back, Corinne, she spoke with the anesthesiologist asking if I could take the Mucinex and also about the cough, and of course that a fever is a no go too…

I have been dropping those golden drops, (more than $150, bargain priced ala insurance only $70 for just a teensy weensy amount) into my eye, i.e. righty, for these last three days as I was told to do…hate for it to be for nothing, ya know?

Did I mention that Hubby made an unbelievable dinner for me tonight, and that he euphemistically has called it,  my “Last Supper”? HOPE NOT! Yes, he bought from the fish monger at our grocery, two lobster tails and from their produce asparagus and small potatoes to round out the meal. We eat early, so all is done and gone, saying that it is was amazingly wonderful would be quite the understatement.

I have hinted through out this dissertation when this surgery will occur and that is as far as I will go… but wishing some one luck who is frightened, although, I have been through many a surgery over the years with anesthesia.

Perhaps, it is what I have on the line this time, sight or no sight…for an eye that was said to be not worth the effort by my previous neurologist…

On that note, I am going for hope and we will see what we will see!

Truer words never said before by this gal…

So allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a happy good night and ask all of you to count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 

People are mystical, fantastical, and amazingly resilient.

We, the people of this world, I personally know none other, do you?

We are incredible creatures that roam wherever our hearts take us to train on those who we need or they need us or just simply enough both.

Life is a live motion of constant flux desiring to change therefore always changing, but at times the reality of that change temporarily eludes us. And most of all we appear to go with that flow once understood; whether reluctantly or with as much exuberance as one can muster.

A friend never fully realized moves on and leaves and sadly we can only take the good from what they did do and that is left to dwell in our hearts and minds for all eternity, here.

Sadly minds whether well or sick do not have the full capacity to remember everything and so this journal can and will stand for all time.

Memories will suffice till time returns one's self to saying NEVER EVER LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH the same way again, with honesty a gift was given, twice, and much appreciated; more than any can ever realize, generosity is a wonderful attribute and thanks is never ever enough to the unexpected.
Perhaps not that big a deal to them, but to us, and thanks again mister, we both thank you for that joy of music throughout our land and for us to be a part of up close and personal two fold, although more was offered.
Moving on…
People are truly good by nature and well meaning and damn me for misunderstanding another fellows offer to be helpful and misunderstanding the whole of the deed.
Me not they again were responsible. I think that fairly soon, I will need a translator, even for English, which this person was writing in. and so was the article he posted which was about a woman being attacked/raped violently, she has MS and due to her medications and I suppose her lack of abilities appeared under the influence and so she was disbelieved by law enforcement in NJ?

Ignorance is never BLISS!I mean me in not getting what this fine person was trying to do, show me another story about MS being misunderstood, how ironic that I misunderstood him...AHA!

Sure at times with our MS, Multiple Sclerosis we appear to look drunk due to our balance issues and our medication does at times seem extreme but for a good reason to help us feel better to deal with our symptoms…

“Early Symptoms of MS

• Blurred or double vision
• Thinking problems
• Clumsiness or a lack of coordination
• Loss of balance
• Numbness
• Tingling
• Weakness in an arm or leg

No two people have exactly the same symptoms of MS.”
To read more goto: http://www.webmd.com/multiple-sclerosis/guide/multiple-sclerosis-diagnosis

Those symptoms listed above are all beginning indicators, but you can have one or two or all or any numeric quantity, nothing is written in stone and as the last line says they ARE different for everyone. And many of those could be the same for other conditions so always talk to your physician when you think anything is amiss.

On that note of many notes, in tune I do hope, as the gentleman in the first segment of this essay had for many years in his career choice of joyously bringing musicality to this land that we locals chose to call home...
Now allow me to be the first to wish you all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

 
 

RAIN!

What can we say about rain?
It is a welcoming relief from a hot summer's day, or a drought or fire seasons, which is what we here in Florida, are in, but it can be dangerous too.

Sadly, rain can cause floods and mudslides and tornadoes and hurricanes...yes and that is very bad.

We are enjoying our tame rain, while many in our country are suffering from the results of theirs causing horrific mudslides in Washington state, killing eight with more than one hundred unaccounted for as of yet...Our prayers go out to them.

In more news...
 
As of today a British satellite has seemed to have picked up the pings from Flight 370 the Malaysian airliner has crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, families although now know it goes without saying that they are of course are grief stricken. Our condolences are sent to all with love.


Moving on…

My eye surgery is scheduled for the end of this week.
If anyone recalls why I am having said surgery it is because I am willing to pay my mere a $200 co-pay for the surgery to remove an enormous cataract covering the optic nerve dead blind eye, which without insurance would be thousands, just to find out if my righty eye will be able to see the BIG E on the eye chart, scary or crazy or both, hmm? Perception is everything and supposedly if it works my balance that was compromised before with Ataxia and its optic nerve dying after that issue might also improve slightly. So it’s not an absolute, and I am going into this with my eyes wide open! Interesting choice of words; purposely using them, hmm?

Slowly I turned and as in most things in life there are hidden charges… Sure even with cataract surgery and any of you out there who have had it know what I am talking about.

The pre-medication prior to surgery the prescription was given to me three weeks ago when Jill measured me for my lens. Hubby picked it up Friday, at first he went to our usual pharmacy but they did not have in stock so he went to Walgreen’s and they had it but it was to take an hour to be ready, he had shopping but no problems.

When he went back to pick it up they informed him that it was $150! He said what? Oh they checked again and said with MY insurance it would only be $70, whew! I wonder if they did that to him so the seventy didn’t seem so bad and this is for Besivance 0.6% OPTH Suspension 5 ml., what? Yep a real tiny amount that can be refilled 3X; sure hope NOT!
Oddly enough it is an antibiotic used for conjunctivitis.
But for this off brand use it is being used four times a day for three days prior to surgery, one drop each time of the eye to be operated on in the lower lid and held closed for one to two minutes with each application.
Weather is good and bad and happy and sad and so it is much like life in those ways…

So I will leave you tonight with that thought of my odd analogy, or maybe not so odd after all… and please try your darndest to have a happy one and kindly count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!
  

I'm NOT Sleeping Beauty!

And no, I didn't eat a poison apple either.
It appears that breaking the curse of, "THE MUCUS” is going to be a more difficult case to crack than at first I thought...
Just when you think that it is safe to resume normal programming of your life, you get a BIG slap in your face, head, nose, throat and ears who all start saying in unison, uh, uh, UH!
Or at least it sounds that way to your overly congested self and this after you thought you tried everything...
You know the conforming to medical ideals of how this game should be played, by rules that somehow they, the doctors, got their hands on by going to medical school for a gazillion years or there abouts, but then it's time to take pause and ask, "Was this OTC or that OTC medication was it invented when they who are closer to your age than is natural for someone to still be breathing and talking and working at the same time should be, were those approved over the counter meds even invented when they were taught to make people well...?"
Diet is also another choice that I made to do and did, really, really, really try for GOSH, days; well at least a few more than is naturally healthy to terminate all the food that G-d meant for us to eat, like pizza and antipasto, ya know?

I do have a confession to make… I did do something stupid.

Oh you are all wondering whatever THAT could be, hmm?

You are all yelling that you know what I did that I ate the PIZZA and ANTIPASTO!

Oh you’re not?

I can’t hear you anyway and this is just downright silly, because some might think I am just arguing with myself, but we all know that is impossible, true?

Oh NO!

I still can’t hear you!

Which is good, since I understand if I could, then I would have real problems…any-who, so let me just suppose, you see, suppositions are a wee bit different than assuming which if you recall makes an ass of you and me and no there is nothing that suppositions make, except supposings, okay, ya know?

Nah, but it sounds good, anyway, the dumb thing I did too yesterday when I was busy throwing something, I forgot, oh logic, to the wind I decided that perhaps… now don’t think anymore badly of me than you already do but I thought that that Mucinex should be gone with the Italian cuisine too, ya know?

A walk on the wild side, hmm?

But I was oh so wraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, ong!

And today all day I have been once again compliant, back on the MUCINEX, every four hours, like clockwork, although I did wait until ten A.M. to be sure…but to me there is NO BIG difference yet, what am I doing WRONG?

This is the ridiculous lament of impatient patient…

That’s all.

On that note of how much longer will this take , since my eye surgery is this week, thus my impatience… allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask you all to kindly count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!

PS when the pre-op nurse called Friday she said that it will still be a go as long as I don’t have a fever. But with being put out I worry that I will choke on my nasty MUCUS!!!!!!!

Is the curse broken?

It's not often that one decides to throw caution to the wind and say the hell with what is supposed to be the logical reasoning of how to handle a situation.

Oh sure it is.
That's the way life goes...
People choose to do what they believe to be their best choice.
G-d Bless America and all that!
Freedom of choice and all...

Tonight I came to a conclusion, perhaps later I will find it to be the wrong one, but that's my choice, right?

Yep, I made the enormous decision to change my way of thinking and do something quite unconventional for someone in my position.

Curious?

I bet you are.

Tonight I thought that it would be a deviation from the norm, to let's just say, do something out of the ordinary, ya know?

More curious?

That goes without saying... I am getting a mystical feeling that I am right!

You wanna know, you gotta know, you have-ta know, hmm?

Well, maybe I'll tell you and maybe I won't...

Nah, I will.   

Do you all remember my blog entitled, "Quinoa?"
Okay, I will take your silence as a yes.
Any-who, that one had a specific diet etched into it for preventing the build up of mucus in your northern hemisphere of your body, and therefore sticking to it would make you feel better?
To be honest I conformed to it and nearly cause myself to become one of those Orthorexia types!

STOP THE MADNESS!

And so, the solution to the cure is to send someone like HUBBY, in my case actually, HUBBY, to curtail my over indulgence and slap me silly with a taste of reality and some real food!
My co-conspirator, has gone, by mutual bequest, on a pizza and antipasto run!

Life is good!
Why ruin it with rules.
TA DA!

On that note of another much desired quote, allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night and ask all of you to kindly count all your blessings and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear? 

PS: Oh the title... the curse of mucus coming out of every crevice above the neck region, well nothing was working and so thus...this latest... experimentation... we will see what we will see.
PSS: A little over a week ago I received my NEW health insurance cards (2), and guess what? Yesterday I received a welcome letter telling me that my cards will be coming soon? 

PSSS:Life is confusing enough...so why not do anything that sounds like it will make you feel oh so GOOD! (kids that means within reason and parental approval, of course!)

Project far enough done for our pictorial!

 Ghost stains on carpet from air-conditioner breaking and then from previous shampooed professional machine failing; they recently reappeared...!

 Removal begins...

 Padding next...

 Not mold, tar from original tile

 The beginning installation of the Calcutta Ivory porcelain tile 18" X 18"

All done, except for the closets!

Total DIY project under four hundred bucks, including glue and grout! We, thankfully still have our own tile cutter; bought back in 2004.Very small room, less than 10'X 10'!

Still not feeling well, hopefully will write more tomorrow... till then...

Spring time has finally arrived!

And for any of you who celebrate the beginning of one of our most pleasant seasons that is, of spring, congratulations, since now you can say that you have made it!

It's all downhill from here for you folks in parts of the country who have been dealing with an unspeakable winter, at least one would hope for that for you.

Moving on...

Hubby's most recent project is nearly finished and I think that by the weekend I will be posting the pictures of the most recent mysterious DIY.

I, on the other hand have not realized any major improvement in my coughing due to mucus.
Although, I have significantly changed my diet to conform to the information’s' restrictions. 
The practice, for now, is to avoid mucus producing foods.
Albeit, I do wonder how long it will take to help along with the conventional medication that my doctor prescribed for the problem as well.
Neither at this time appears to be doing what one would want... stopping production of mucus!

More issues to be dealt with... spasticity have slowly been returning to my feet and shoulders.
Curly toes are quite upsetting and the cure is to up my dose of Baclofen, but I just reduced it now down to 10MG. morning and 10mg. night from 20Mg. /20 Mg. At one point I was at 80mg. when needed, I must learn how to deal with this issue.
Staring at curly toes is not as fun as one might think.
Amusing, is not what happens either, pain and amazement on how they can go in all those directions, truly!  

My other fleeting concerns are that each infection has the possibility of causing an exacerbation of the Multiple Sclerosis, with leaving permanent deficits physically each and every time lessen one's abilities.
And even though one tries hard to put the idea out of your/my mind... having difficulty lifting body parts, like legs and feet, and exhaustion from doing simple tasks makes one stop, and take longer breaks than any healthy person would legitimately feel necessary to do.

The other not that unrealistic fear is; can I ever go out in public? Since this is my fourth infection since October.
It was less than three weeks that I was back at the rehab/gym when this thing hit me. And believe me we resumed our lives as before with going there three days a week, shopping and eating out without any thought that this abnormal outcome would not appear once more. All of us with Multiple Sclerosis are very susceptible to illness since it is an autoimmune disorder. 

"Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder affecting movement, ensation, and bodily functions. It is caused by destruction of the myelin insulation covering nerve fibers (neurons) in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)."

Thanks to: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/multiple+sclerosis

Now and autoimmune disorder is: "
A disorder caused by a reaction of an individual's immune system against the organs or tissues of the body. Autoimmune processes can have different results: slow destruction of a particular type of cell or tissue, stimulation of an organ into excessive growth, or interference in function."

Thanks to: http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Autoimmune+disorder

   
Much to think about, I suppose, but mostly my job is to feel better. I guess I could try denial, when my body misbehaves, but nah, it continues to remind me! 

On that note with who knows allow me to be the very first to wish all of you a very happy good night, and ask you to kindly count all your blessings and share all your overages with you know who and we will too!

And next time please be here or be square, ya hear!