Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tears were shed

Tonight the kids and I made a trip out to Eaton Rapids to have dinner with the Chins, as Paul, Cat and Tate are making the journey home tomorrow to Swansea, Il. Cat and Tate have been with us in Eaton Rapids for the past 6 months while Paul was deployed in Kabul, Afghanistan.
It's been great having them here, and I'm so sad that they're leaving.
Alexis cried in the car, "Now I don't have any Aunties here" I tried to reassure her we would see them again, plus we can always call or use the webcams, but I agreed, it wasn't the same.
Daniel and Tate did some bonding over Blues Clues and jumping, I can't wait to get them together again!
Hurry back soon Schwartz Family!

Monday, November 26, 2007

I'm a drug user

Again! Or, I should say, still. After a break from the hospital on Sunday and this morning, I'll be back tonight for more iv Vancomycin. One more week, I can hack it. I wish it wasn't musical weekend though! I haven't made it to ONE practice yet. I know Cheryl (the director) is sympathetic and understands, she IS a nurse after all, but I feel like I'm really dropping the ball.

I did get clearance to go back to work 1/2 days, so that will be good. Thankfully I only really NEED to be there monday and wednesday afternoons for food bank. The other days they can get along fine without me if they have to.

Thanksgiving weekend was great! On Thursday we went to Aunt Cyndee and Uncle Dougs house and had dinner with them, Brad, Young, Max and Mia! It was delicious of course, with all the traditional fare.

The kids went to Papa and Lori's house Friday and Saturday morning while I went to the hospital. We kept clear of all the stores!

Sunday, after church, the kids and I went back out to Papa and Lori's house for another Thanksgiving dinner. There were lots of friends and family there! Lori, Suzann (my stepsister), Kurt (Suz's fiance), Craig and Mark (my step brothers), Evey (Marks girlfriend), Paul and Julie Merrill (Dad and Lori's best friends), Dave (my bro), Erica and Victoria (my neices). Unfortunatly, Dad wasn't feeling well and spent the entire afternoon in bed.
Suzann and Kurt brought wedding cake samples for us to try and everyone agreed banana was the favorite. We also celebrated Evey's birthday with a tasty cake made by Julie. She is a whole 20 years old.

So, it was nice to have a one day break from the hospital, but I'm glad my doctor cares enough to see my treatment through until he KNOWS I am better!

Thursday, November 22, 2007

I'm thankful for...

1. Uncle Paul is HOME SAFE from Afghanistan!!! Having all my family on one continent is a good thing.
2. I have great doctors and nurses who know how to treat me and really care.
3. My family support system is SO awesome, as I've really learned through this past 3 weeks
4. My church family is awesome too! I've recieved visitors, flowers, meals, and LOTS of prayers!
5. My daycare! I recently had a chance to watch Daniel without him noticing me. Miss Char, Maddie (Miss Char's granddaughter) and Daniel were watching a movie. I saw Daniel get down from his comfy chair and blanket he was sharing with Maddie, walk over to Miss Char who was sitting on the floor and give her a big smooch, a big bear hug, then sit down in her lap and cuddle. With no prompting from Char whatsoever. I can't tell you how full it makes my heart feel that Daniel is with someone he loves so much every day. He's a happy little guy and I know that Char and Scott have a lot to do with that.
6. Alexis got a glowing report card and comments from her teachers. She is thriving in school and really is blossoming as a leader.
7. My job. I've had to take almost a month off of work and they have been so supportive and understanding and my job is waiting for my return on Tuesday, if I get the ok from Dr. Koz on Monday.
8. The Shower. I got to take an actual, full body shower today for the first time in 3 weeks. The only thing that was covered in plastic was my picc line. I washed my own hair, shaved my legs, it was heaven!

Sunday, November 18, 2007

So what happened was...

Here's a timeline for the past couple of weeks.
11/1-Mom leaves for Mexico. 11/2-I wake up and my joints are sore and I feel a bit tired 11/4-Still feeling sick, I take my temp, it's 101.4, my urine is also very dark
11/5-I call the doc for an appointment. At the appointment Dr Liz says she wants to admit me. Ummm yikes! Mom's in Mexico! Thankfully our good friend Sue Little was able to come to the house and stay the night with the kids, and she took them to day care the next day too! I spent the entire night in the ER getting iv fluids because I was so dehydrated I would throw up any bit of water I would drink. I didn't even realize I was dehydrated! Turns out my urine was dark because there was bilirubin in it which meant my liver was not functioning like it should.
11/06-The kids spend the day at Char and Scotts house and the night as well! We're so blessed to have such a wonderful couple for our daycare providers and friends. They fold my kids right into their family before I even have to ask.
They're running every test known to man and trying to siphon all my blood to figure out what's wrong. My family is so great, coming to visit and bring me presents, makes me feel so special! Finally on the 8th they come up with Cytomegalovirus. Mom finds out I'm in the hospital while she's changing planes in Houston and comes to the hospital about 4pm. They also diagnose me with strep throat. I have a little spot on my right arm that hurts, like an ingrown hair maybe, so I just get some neosporin and a bandaid for it. On the 10th I'm deemed well enough to go home.
By Tuesday morning the little spot on my arm is so infected the red goes all the way around the cuff of my arm. I'm having pelvic pain so bad I can hardly walk. I manage to get Daniel to daycare, and Alexis to school and I drive myself to the ER, sobbing the whole way, what a mess I was!
During an ultrasound they find I have a hemmoragic cyst on one of my ovaries. Painful, but no treatment really necessary. I get a bag of IV fluids and an order to have IV antibiotics twice a day for the next ten days.
So, now I go to the hospital at 9 in the morning and 9 at night for 2 hours. I have at least another week to go and I'm doing a bit better every day I think. Whew! What a couple of weeks!!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Unexpected CPAP benefits

So the past 3 days I've been feeling like ish, joints sore, everything tender, stomach upset, I thought it was from the wine I had had Thursday night. Then yesterday I was SO cold the heat was up to 70 at night (unusually high for us), I was wearing polar fleece, a scarf and a hat in the house. A friend said "Are you sure you're not sick?" Naaaahhhhh, just an allergic reaction to the fermentation process of the wine, right?

Last night I climbed into bed and was SO cold I couldn't fall asleep. That's when I realized: I could cover my whole body, including my head and not smother because I use the CPAP! I was blissfully warm awhile after I had added a few more blankets and sealed the cracks.

I've been popping ibuprofen all day (a no-no for bandsters) and finally took my temperature. 101.2 grrrr

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Trick or Treat!

Like every year, the kids and I went out to Eaton Rapids to trick or treat from the House of Chin. This year we had a great big group! Cat and Tate went as Steve and Blue, Daniel went as Bob the Builder, Alexis went as a Ninja, Catie went as a Princess and two of Caties friends joined us as well!
We posed for a few pictures...


Then got ready to go!
Catie, her friends and Alexis ran ahead.

Daniel and Tate got into the swing of things VERY quickly! We had a great night and THIS year, no one threw up on me.
The quietest I have ever seen a kindergarten class.