Oh, forgot to share - we’ve got another fish - a spiny box puffer fish. Ours moves a bit more frenetically than the one in the video, and he’s a bit nervous. **FCD **came around the corner and startled the fish who puffed up for a second, then deflated.
Our aquarium is getting really interesting…
Good morning everyone.
The surgery went well yesterday and I was home before noon.
The anesthesia didn’t make me sick, thank goodness. They really gave me some good stuff this time to counteract that particular issue.
Once I got home, I spent the day lounging in our big chair with my feet elevated on the ottoman. I watched a TV and dozed off and on all day.
I’m not currently in any pain and I hope that keeps up.
I read, but couldn’t retain much.
Hugs and kisses to all.
Yay!
I’m just on long enough to finish copying music to my mp3 player, then I’m off to a meeting with my RenFaire Guild. I’m probably slightly nuts to go, since it’s about two and half hours from here, but I don’t care! 
Yay for a good surgery, Taters! Enjoy your slug time - goodness knows the wimmenfolk of the world don’t get near enough!
Contractor and window measuring guys have come and gone. We added a window and a solar tube to our order and due to the size of our contract, the guy is giving us new fascia boards for free. So that’ll save a few pennies.
The roofing can’t be done till we have temps over 40, plus all the snow has to melt off. And nothing can be done until the windows are made, which will take 10-14 days. So with luck, some time in March it’ll all start coming together. Yay! And once they start, it’ll take less than 2 weeks to get it all done. I am very pleased! 
So’s the contractor - this is his biggest order so far this year. He said mostly they’re getting handy-man type calls.
**FCD **and daughter just left for JoAnn’s and Lowe’s - she’s going to get some fabric and I don’t know what he needs. I’ve got a load of jeans in the washer, and shortly, I’ll assume the crochet position. I’m counting on a nice, relaxing day.
New fahr and rescue tale in the works. Obligatory tease: who knew the grim reaper can leave humor in his wake?
facebook is having a bad day, my taxes are mostly complete (just waiting on some archived docs), and Peapod has come and gone. It must be nap time.
A wonderful Saturday to you all! Taters–so glad it all went well. Now, 2 things from the MMP nurse:
Rest and take your pain pills. Don’t wait for the pain to get “bad”–drug up.
That said, you had surgery; you’re not sick. By all means laze around, but you can be dressed (if you want); get out of bed–and push fluids. Water, juice and clear (no caffeine) pop. No alcohol or driving for 24 hours. No alcohol while taking pain pills.
Ok, I’ll shut up now.
Tonight is Turnabout (some of you may know this as Sadie Hawkins). #1 son is going with his GF, Megan. #2 son did as well as could be expected at his solo piece this morning. We’re proud of him.
It is so nice out (warm), that I am tempted to go play in the snow or at least run errands. I have already foraged for food and made Heath Bar Cake, which is sinfully good warm with a cold glass of milk. Life is GOOD today–I like it when that happens. 
**rigs, **I have to laugh. I have been pushing the liquids, just plain water, although I was a bad girl and did have two cups of coffee this morning.
I haven’t been in my bed except to sleep. Yesterday, I just lounged around on the big chair and a half, although I did get up every hour or so to use the bathroom, or just to simply move.
I did not have any alcohol yesterday simply because I did take the pain pills. I haven’t needed any pills today and am hoping I won’t. They gave me hydromorphone. However, if I do feel any type of contant pain coming on, I’ll be sure to take one. The 'script says to take one to two every four to six hours as needed for pain. I only took one at a time yesterday.
Finally, this evening we’re supposed to go to some friends’ house for a Dexter marathon. Don’t worry; I’m not driving. My husband is. I’ve been very firmly told that I’ll be ensconced on their double recliner and will not be doing anything other than watching Dexter. I will not be drinking any alcohol if I’m taking or have taken any pain pills today.
Today, since about 8:00 am, I’ve been sitting upright in my computer chair, faffing about on the 'net. I need to go take a shower now.
Howdy Y’all! It’s the weekstart! I have cold beer! Da bear’s happy!
Taters glad the surgery went well. You were (and are still) in my thoughts and prayers. I say take it easy. Make Mr. Taters and son wait on you hand and foot. Call your daughter and make her feel guilty for not bein’ there. Take advantage woman, this is gold!
Dindin tonight is smoked poke chops, field peas with snaps, nuked mac&cheese from last night and bizkits. I am on a bizkit binge right now. Need to stop that.
Oh, and it’s seventy degrees Amurrkin outside. Gonna go soak in it some.
This is typically a blue-collar thing, but it carries over to a lot of occupations. The person with the knowledge is not just your teacher, but is assumed to be your superior because of seniority. If you ask a question s/he can’t answer, it’s not a “teachable moment”; you’re just out of line.
Doesn’t make it right, of course, but status is always going to be on some people’s minds. Especially when they’re defensive or have been made to feel inferior about it (which is endemic in the nursing field).
Nah, can’t run the invalid thing into the ground. I can tell the hubby is getting tired of it already. Besides, he did take quite good care of me. I wanted Pho and he went and got some. He was very solicitous of me and made sure I got anything I needed yesterday. I let him sleep in today. He was obviously very tired.
My son was at work yesterday evening and this morning. It’s not like he can do anything from work. My daughter is coming to see me tomorrow, and, she asked, I didn’t have to ask her.
I’m doing well. Really, I am. I’m pretty amazed actually. I feel “puffy” all over, but other than that I’m fine.
It was another night of ambulance duty, with two calls. The first was to a place I’ve written about before, the home of tightly wrapped Wilma and her hubby Wayne with COPD. When I told my first tale about them, they weren’t exactly newlyweds, but the honeymoon wasn’t over, either.
It is, now. Last night’s call was for another episode of breathing problems, this time as the result of a domestic dispute related to an in-process divorce. They were fighting; she attacked him with car keys as a weapon, and his lungs swelled shut. We gave him a breathing treatment, patched up a couple of punctures on his arm, and transported. No big deal as far as storytelling.
It had been a long day for me, and I fell asleep at the keyboard while doing the report for Wilma and Wayne at roughly 11 PM; I went to bed. Around 3:30 AM was a page for an elderly man with difficulty breathing. We stumbled out to the bay, started up, and took off. About 2 miles down the road the dispatcher called back and said he quit breathing altogether.
Shit.
I went even faster, but this call was a long drive, and we weren’t going to get there within the 5-minute window for saving a cardiac arrest. When we arrived, I did the technical stuff with the patient (no pulse, no lung sounds, no heart sounds, and the monitor showed a flat line that could have been drawn with a ruler) while Amy talked to the wife.
“Do you want us to start CPR? I have to tell you that at this point, it will be futile.”
No was the answer, because he was terminally ill with asbestosis, and was about 1 month into a 6 month life expectancy. We have a long list of stuff to do with patient deaths, and the first is to talk to our medical control for a pronunciation, and second is get law enforcement on scene to determine the death is not suspicious. In practice last night, the order was reversed, but that’s no big deal. To add to the excitement, there was a page for a second crew to go back to Wilma and Wayne’s place because Wayne was having more problems.
Deputy Riley showed up after a significant delay. He was involved in a high-speed chase, and nailed the driver with a serious amount of drugs in his car. In the meantime, the wife was understandably having the mother of all panic attacks. She was trying to be helpful, go through the things to do and people to call, and have her crying time all in turn. Amy and I took her vitals because she was hyperventilating and having chest pains. We wound up putting her on her husband’s oxygen to help calm her down, and then she requested that I bring her the tranquilizer prescription for her husband, and she took one of those, too.
Riley’s job, once he determined the death to be non-suspicious, was to contact the doctor in charge, either the primary physician or the specialist, to sign the death certificate.
**
Riley: “Ma’am, who is the doctor in charge?”
**
Wife: “Dr. I. C. Spotts of Northside Family Medicine.”
**Me: **“Their number is 934-3434. They’ll have a service on right now.” Amy and Riley both looked at me as if I had just pulled a live chicken out of my ass.
Riley: “How in hell did you know that?”
Me: “My doctor used to be part of that practice.”
**Riley: **“Bob, every time I see you, you amaze me somehow.”
About an hour after we arrived, the wife had calmed down considerably, and friends and family had gathered while we waited. Normally, the deputy would have custody of the deceased while waiting for the undertakers to arrive, but Riley had a date with the magistrate to arraign his drug dealer, so Amy and I waited instead. You could see the change in the wife, from panic attack to actually cracking some lame jokes while trying to conduct the sad business at hand. This was good, because I had counselled the preacher to consider taking her to a doctor for a Valium prescription.
Finally, around 5 AM, the funeral home people arrived, and Amy and I could leave. We both gave the wife hugs and sympathies, and the last thing I heard as we headed for the door was the wife saying to family members, “You know, these drugs work pretty good…”
HEE BBBobbio! It’s stuff like that that gets ya through the tough times, right? Great story!
Taters I take comfort in knowin’ Mr. Taters was ever so helpful and that daughter is comin’ on her own. I trust she shall show up with chawklits? You did request chawklits right? Surely you did! Everybody knows chawklit is needed at at time like this!
Ok, I was just out on the back porch and heard the liltin’ strains of the ice cream truck. Tonight’s little ditty is “Turkey In The Straw”. I swear, the temp hits 60 and the ice cream truck emerges from hibernation!
Dindin was teh num! Those were some tender poke chops. The burly butcher up the road done a good job smokin’ those chops!
Gotta love those drugs. And gotta love you, Bobbio, and your fellow rescue workers. And a hearty slap on the back for Deputy Riley
Hm, don’t know if daughter will show up with chawklits or not. I didn’t request them.
Besides, my mommy showed up with a box of dark chocolate brandy beans (the good ones) on Thursday night. I have yet to open them because I’m* trying* to be good.
My MiL just left. She brought me flowers and a card, along with a box of doughnuts. I had a chocolate bar. This trying to be good stuff sucks when people keep bringing forbidden food into the house.
It’s funny how humor can strike folks at the oddest times. I try to deal with bad stuff with humor too. If I don’t, well, I’ll spiral into the deepest, dankest pits of despair.
Hydromorphone is a gift from the gods, but it can make you constipated–another reason to push fluids.
I am going to see #1 son off with GF and take pics for Turnabout in about 30 minutes. When did he grow up? I know he’s been in HS for awhile, but it truly hit me today that he is 18 and will very shortly be out of the house for college. 
I was a pyromaniac this afternoon after errand running. I cut up part of the Xmas tree (in the backyard–we have a large yard with woods), put it in the open pit fire thingy on the deck and lighted it. Yeehaw! Cold wet pine burns like a mother! Then I shoveled the back deck of snow, just to stay outside in the thaw. It was so nice out today. And I bought an ironing board. I know how to LIVE. Such was my Saturday.
Taters it’s not too late to call daughter and request chawklit for her poor, suffering mother. See how easy that is!
rigs Burn! Baby! Burn! Plus a new ironing board to boot. How can you stand it all!
The only effect I noticed from the hydromorphone was sleepiness. I really don’t know if was the antihistimine I took first to combat any nauseau, the hydromorphone or both, but really, all it did was make me sleepy.
I guess it killed the pain, but then I didn’t let it build to serious levels before I popped the pills yesterday.
Still haven’t needed any today.
The nurse told me that hydromorphone would constipate me, and that was one of the reasons I was drinking so much water.
Swampy, I’m going to let the daughter decide if she should bring me anything. Frankly, I’ll just be happy to see her again. I miss her everyday.
Just sleepy? If I took any kind of opiate and an antihistamine at the same time, I’d be out like a rock.
Don’t get any ideas.
FWIW, with trauma or surgery not involving orthopedic issues, the worst days for pain are the first and 3rd. If you can get through tomorrow without a lot, you should be home-free.
Yep, just sleepy. I dozed for a bit here and there, but dozing consisted of short cat naps; basically 15 or 20 minute intervals of sleep followed by an hour or two of wakefulness, then another little catnap.
Frankly, I wish I could lie down right now, but we’re getting ready to go. Somehow, I don’t think I’ll see much of Dexter tonight. I think I’ll be napping more than anything, which is fine with me. Since it’s my DVD set, I can watch it anytime.