I spent yesterday washing sheets and towels, and throwing away make up. Oh, and putting in eye drops. 4 times a day you have to do that! I don't get to do anything 4 times a day.

But, the good news is that I think we're all back to normal. Or, normal for us.

Oh, I spent a lot of time surfing around youtube. This isn't the world's most appropriate video, but it cracked me up and that says a lot considering the day I had yesterday. I'm just trying to imagine the world where this guy is a rock star.


Renee, this is different than the one I put on the board.

A good thing that happened yesterday was that my favorite guilty pleasure TV show started it's 4th season last night. I love that show!

Better run, we're off to a field trip! Catch you up later...

Labels: medical, sick, video

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  Oh yay, I've got it, too!

And the doc says it's likely viral, which means we're contagious even though we are on the drops.

Editing to add: I don't think they should call it pink eye, that sounds tame and kind of cute. I think they should call it something along the lines of "gritty ball of fire eye."

Labels: medical, sick

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  You probably wonder what I'm doing up at 3:30 in the morning. Actually, if you've been reading here long, you probably don't.

But, today is different. I was well on my way to a full night's sleep not long ago. I'd even taken one of my Rozerems, an awesome sleeping pill that I'd misplaced until recently (Only Users Lose Drugs). I was tucked in good and proper and nearly comatose when I was scared more than half to death. Probably closer to three-quarters or seven-eighths to death.

Why?

Because, quietly at first, then growing louder, our piano started to play itself. Up and down the scale, over and over.

My reaction will show how truly unliberated I am, and that I'm a coward to boot. I whacked Davin and demanded that he get up and investigate.

Davin found his glasses, and bravely ran off to confront the burglar or ghost or whatever it was. I mostly laid in bed hyperventilating, trying hard not to pee while listening for him to be killed.

He sorted out the problem right away. It was Maya's cat Tigger, walking up and down the keys. He has no doubt been saving up this bit of revenge ever since the hat incident. Serves me right.

Long story short (too late) I'm up now, fully awake and ready for the day. Nothing gets the blood pumping like an early morning freak out, good grief!

Labels: medical, pets

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  You may remember from way back in June that we've had a long-term houseguest. She's been staying with us while going through a nasty divorce (ooh, it's been hard to watch!) Anyway, the divorce isn't finalized yet, but she's able to get on her feet and she moved out Friday afternoon.

She wasn't a problem while she was here, and I miss her already, but I think her moving kicked me into gear to clean up my house a bit. And, when that happens, I can't let anything stop me, because that's awfully rare! So, over the weekend I've deep cleaned a lot of the kitchen, and the knick knack hutch. I cleaned the glass globes for the chandelier (man, between the dust on the globes, and on the bulbs themselves, it was DARK in here! Yikes!)

Also, I'm trying to sort my brain out. I was on a great medication a while back, but I stopped taking it because my insurance didn't cover it and it was kind of pricey. It wasn't anything I needed for any of my medical issues, but it did help me sleep well and wake up ready to have a day. When I quit taking it, I didn't notice any problems right away. But, one day I woke up and I just couldn't find my "give a damn." I just didn't care about anything! It took me a week or so to figure out what the problem was, and a little while longer to go pick up the prescription and let it work. But now I feel EVER SO MUCH better! Yay Rozerem!

Labels: house, life, medical

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  I'm surprised, that illness was really nasty. I guess it was just a stomach bug, but it included some HORRIBLE stabbing pains, I couldn't even stand up straight for a few days. It's still a little twitchy.

Since I'm such a drama queen, I decided pretty early on that the stabbing pains were probably a sign of organ failure, or possibly perforated intestines. I had our huge anatomy poster book out and I was trying to determine what was going on, and I had it narrowed down to a ruptured spleen. I figured I was probably already going into septic shock, and would soon be dead, so there was no use calling the doctor or anything.

Of course, I'm completely fine, which I pretty much understood the whole time. But, there always is that nagging fear that something big is going down. Does that ever happen to you?

While I was researching all of the things that could possibly be wrong with me, before I rejected appendicitis because the pains were on the wrong side, I discovered a new word. This word is so amazingly cool that I'm trying to find a way to work it into conversation regularly. I think you should learn it, too, there'll be a quiz.

fecalith

Hope your weekend is going well!

Labels: life, medical

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  Yesterday, when we were dealing with the Dragon Foot Incident, Sage and I had a little time to ourselves when they took Maya for an X-ray.

We were sitting quietly, when Sage looked around and said, "Do you suppose anyone's died in this room?"

I told her that I doubted it, because it's a pretty new hospital and besides it looked like it was the room where they put folks who just need a cast or splint. But, it made me wonder if that's a normal thought process for a 9 year old girl, or have we ruined her somehow?

Labels: kids, medical

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Thirteen Things about The Dragon in Maya's Foot 1. Well, I was getting all ready to post my first T-13 in a long time, when I was interrupted by some loud screaming and shrieking. 2. Apparently, Maya had stepped on a toy on the floor, and it went about an inch into the arch of her foot. 3. The toy was the head part of a dragon, and it was pretty fierce looking. 4. We called the pediatrician, who told us to take her to the ER. 5. You know the injury is weird when the ER personnel keep showing up with friends from other departments to see it! They all agreed it was the first dragon they'd ever seen stuck in someone's foot. 6. One of the doctors actually asked if he could take a picture of it. Maya said yes, so now her injury is on film (more likely a memory card) somewhere... There were tons of people gathered around to see her foot, so Maya was wavering between being freaked out and thinking it was sort of cool. 7. Then, the doctor was able to pull it out. 8. I had attempted to pull it out at home, but the part of the toy that went it was pointy, then got larger, then skinnier, so it was stuck in there pretty well. :-P 9. There wasn't a whole lot of blood, and Maya was very brave. 10. It was still gross, though. I've never been so close to throwing up because of an injury to one of my kids. 11. And, if you've been reading here a while, you know we've seen a lot. 12. I don't have a picture of the dragon actually IN her foot (my camera's broken) but I was able to scan the dragon now that it's out. The line indicates how far it went in, and the arrow points to the part that was actually in the arch of her foot. 13. Do you want to see it? Ok, here it is:

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Labels: hurl, medical, Thursday Thirteen

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  Did you know this? I didn't know this....

Stamp prices to go up Monday

It will cost a bit more to mail letters and parcels starting Monday. A first-class letter will go up 2 cents to 41 cents.

Maybe I'm just dense, but I stopped paying attention to stamps a while back. It seems like they're changing all the time any more. (Maybe they always have and I never noticed, like I said, I'm dense.)

I wish they would just raise it to a dollar per stamp, and then leave it at that rate for a really long time until the cost catches up again. In the meantime, it would create a bit of a surplus, but it seems certain they could put it to use.

Maybe they could spend some to buy new facilities to replace the ones that got anthraxed. I know they say they cleaned it, but do you suppose that's ever far from the minds of the people who work there every day? I'd be completely freaked out every time I got sick, chugging Cipro and saying goodbye to my family. No wonder these folks sometimes lose it and shoot the place up, can you blame them?

Labels: medical, newsworthy

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  But we did get away. The weather was looking bad yesterday, so we changed our plans. Good thing, too, since we had some wild weather last night here in CO! Snow, rain, wind, tornadoes and everything! I'm starting to wonder if that's all some sort of signal that the Apocalypse is coming soon. ;-) We're at a local hotel, sucking up the free breakfast and lazing in the hot tub and just plain relaxing.

I've gotten a couple of comments about my "manson" tag for blogging. I haven't gotten to use it very much, but I know I have old posts about him around here, too. His is a fascinating tale. Helter Skelter is the first true crime book I ever read, and I still find the story compelling. It's really terrifying, not in a horror movie kind of way, but in that, "This awful stuff could happen to just about anybody," way. It still gives me the creeps, which says a lot.

Ron should be coming home today. Yesterday his lab work was still a little off, so they kept him another night. Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Labels: life, manson, medical

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  I feel stupid for days after a migraine, and I wouldn't be surprised to find out some of the damage is permanent.

Migraines linked with brain damage

People with migraines also may be suffering from some brain damage as brain cells swell and become starved of oxygen -- a finding that may help explain why migraine sufferers have a higher risk of stroke, researchers reported on Sunday...Similar brain damage can occur with concussions and after strokes, the researchers said in this week's issue of the journal Nature Neuroscience.

They recommend medication to prevent migraine attacks, I've got that covered. Also, they say that high pressure oxygen given during a migraine may help combat brain damage. Crap! We have even less oxygen in our air than just about anyone! I'm hosed, aren't I? You can tell me, I can take it. Do I seem stupid?

Labels: brain damage, medical, newsworthy

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  Closing schools reduced flu deaths in 1918

Cities that quickly closed schools and discouraged public gatherings had fewer deaths from the great flu pandemic in 1918 than cities that did not, researchers reported on Monday....

"Cities in which multiple interventions were implemented at an early phase of the epidemic had peak death rates about 50 percent lower than those that did not," they wrote in their report, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In Kansas City, no more than 20 people could attend weddings or funerals. New York mandated staggered shifts at factories. In Seattle, the mayor told people to wear face masks.

No single action worked on its own, the researchers found, it was the combination of measures that saved lives.

I thought this was interesting, and I wonder if that means anything for us homeschoolers.

I thought, when we decided to homeschool, that we'd spend a lot less time being sick than we would if the kids were in school. That doesn't seem to be true. I think it's because we're always out and about so we're getting exposed all the time. I do know some families who are homeschooling for health reasons, and they do tend to catch less as they are home more and more careful about their contacts.

Also, before I started homeschooling, I thought that my kids wouldn't learn all the vile and nasty things those public school kids teach each other all day at school. Now, with a few years under my belt, I believe that much of that stuff just manifests itself whether they've heard it somewhere else or not. I think it's just hardwired into their brains in utero.

For instance, even though they're not in school, they've shown natural ability in such things as playing "mercy," and announcing "I see London, I see France..." Of course, they didn't quite show proficiency with that one, because they were pulling up their shorts and saying, "I see London, I see France, I see *my own* underpants." I never said they were geniuses.

Long post short (too late), I'd like to think that homeschooling will keep us healthier in the event of a major pandemic, but judging by all this other stuff I doubt that our methods of homeschooling will be any protection.

Labels: homeschooling, medical, newsworthy

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  They're deliberately infecting monkeys with the 1918 flu virus.

Man, if you ask me, that feels way too close to something that would happen in flashback in a sci fi/horror film. The Stand, perhaps?

I'm sure they think they're taking precautions, but I think that Hollywood has made it abundantly clear that this is never a good idea.

That's it, I'm going to go build a bunker, stock it with food and take the family underground. Can you blog from underground?

Labels: medical, newsworthy, stephen king

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  Uterus transplant may enable pregnancy

A New York hospital is taking steps to offer the nation's first uterus transplant, a radical experiment that might allow women whose wombs were removed or are defective to bear children.

The wombs would come from dead donors, just as most other organs do, and would be removed after the recipient gives birth so she would not need anti-rejection drugs her whole life.

Seriously, I don't plan to use mine anymore, and I know how miserable and depressing infertility can be. I wouldn't mind giving it away to a mom if it would help her have her own children. They don't even have to wait until I'm dead! They can come get it later today, I'll clear my schedule...

Labels: medical, newsworthy

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