DJ and I had such a great time playing on the playground equipment at Rock Ranch, during Celebrate America!
Over at Good For the Kids They are celebrating!
They have an awesome sale of 25% off , but then they also have a giveaway of a $75 gift certificate!
Here it is straight from their site:
More Than Amazing 25%-Off Sale & Fantabulous Giveaway
It’s
amazing.It’s incredible.It’s fantabulous.It’s ridiculously cute. ——>And you
are benefitting.
All Melissa & Doug toys as well as all Zoobie Pets stuffed animals are now on sale for 25%
off.
Told you. FANTABULOUS.
Most Melissa & Doug items and all of the
Zoobie Pets will not be re-stocked after they sell out. Stock up now, people.
Stock. Up. NOW.
GIVEAWAY
To celebrate the giant sale and get your
attention, Good for the Kids is giving away a $75 gift certificate. (That’s a
load of toys. HUGE.)Head on over and enter today! http://www.goodforthekids.com/blog/2009/06/more-than-amazing-25-off-sale-fantabulous-giveaway/
DJ and I had such a great time last week at Vacation Bible School. I have to send a big thank you to the entire group at New Richland for inviting us and welcoming us.
Here are just a few of the pictures that I took on Thursday night. 
Mom of 2 Boys, Wife of 1: Wow! Jumeau Handbags Review and GIVEAWAY
Go over to Mom of 2 Boys and enter to win a great handbag prize!!! I am in LOVE with several of the handbags, and I know that I have to keep that site from the girls! :)
With Elmo #SesameSleep
Come celebrate the upcoming release of Bedtime With Elmo, from Genius Products and Sesame Workshop, with Mom of 2 boys on Twitter this Monday, 6/29.
They’ll be giving away a total of 10 copies of the Bedtime With Elmo DVD and a Graco Suite Solutions Pack n’ Play to one lucky Grand Prize winner! Check out the details below.
Bedtime With Elmo – Available 7.7.09 – It’s bedtime on Sesame Street! Just like all little kids, Elmo and Abby would rather make funny faces and sing silly songs than go to sleep. Luckily, Elmo’s dad Louis knows just how to deal with extra glasses of water and little monsters who are afraid of the dark. Parents will love the practical strategies Louis uses to get Elmo and Abby to go to bed, and children will love snuggling under the covers with this timeless DVD. Featuring the special extra of Andrea Bocelli singing “Time To Say Goodnight” to Elmo. Amazon.com
After all the 4th of July festivities, children across America will be feeling the same way as Elmo in Bedtime With Elmo and Sesame Workshop is here to help! Check out these great tips from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street.
Bedtime Tips For Parents – Bedtime can be a wonderful time to bond with your child and help them feel safe and secure. Here are some fun and simple ways to make bedtime enjoyable and to help your child get a restful night’s sleep!
Establish a Consistent and Positive Bedtime Routine
Help your child transition to bed by having predictable activities that take place at the same time each night, such as going to the bathroom, brushing teeth, getting into pajamas and reading stories. Children can be comforted by routine and benefit if their bedtime schedule is followed as regularly as possible.
Quiet Playtime
Help your child wind down from the day by getting him into pajamas earlier than usual and engaging in relaxing activities like reading, playing a quiet game, doing a puzzle, or drawing together. Give him extra long cuddles before putting him to bed!
Sharing Special Moments
Talk to your child about her day before going to sleep. Ask her to choose a favorite part of the day and discuss why it was special. Encourage her to think of something that she is looking forward to doing tomorrow as she falls asleep.
Bedtime Stories
Help your child choose a favorite book at bedtime. After reading the story, ask him what he thinks his favorite character might do to get ready for bed. Talk about ways his bedtime routines might be similar or different. Remind him that everyone needs a good night’s sleep to feel rested and energized in the morning!
Glimmer of Light
Help your child feel safe when sleeping in the dark by placing a small night light in his room or hallway. You can also let him keep a small flashlight under his pillow to help him feel safe. Talk to him about how he is feeling and let him know that while it is okay to be scared, reassure him that there is nothing to be afraid of in the dark and you are always close by if he needs you.
Sweet Dreams
Provide your child with a quiet, cozy and comfortable bedroom for her to sleep in. Your child should look forward to sleeping in her room and feel safe and secure. Allow her to have her favorite blanket or stuffed animal nearby for comfort when going to bed. You can also set up a CD player to play soft calming music or lullabies as she falls asleep.
Those tips are great, but don’t sleep on this Twitter Party! Here are the details and how you can win!
Four ways to win!
1. RSVP to our Twitter party by signing the Mr. Linky. (1 DVD winner will be chosen by RSVP)2. Follow us on Twitter:
@MomFuse
@NicoleMomFuse
@lisasamples (also add @Momof2BoysLisa for party)
Once you’ve followed all three Twitter accounts, leave a comment on Mom Fuse. (1 DVD winner will be chosen from comment left on Mom Fuse)
3. Tweet this message anytime between today and Monday 6/29:
Can’t get your kids to sleep? Join us 6/29 8-9pm EST for sleeping tips & giveaways from Sesame Workshop #SesameSleep http://bit.ly/7aGTp
4. Last but not least, be sure to join us live on 6/29 from 8:00 pm – 9:00 pm EST for the #SesameSleep & Bedtime with Elmo Twitter Party! We’ll be giving away copies of Bedtime With Elmo and our grand prize from Graco randomly to party goers! Make sure you are following all the Twitter accounts mentioned above, join in on Tweetgrid using the #SesameSleep hashtag, share your best sleeping tips, learn some new tips from other moms, and share photos of your sleeping angels.
We will be choosing one DVD winner from the RSVPs that are left here – one DVD winner from the comments on Mom Fuse – eight random DVD winners throughout the hour of the twitter party along with the grand prize winner which will be announced at the end of the party. In order to be entered for the grand prize, you must actively tweet with us between now and Monday 6/29 during the party.
For more tips and family-friendly fun, be sure to visit SesameWorkshop.org!
Three of the Atlanta professional sports teams brought down events for the kids at Celebrate America/Rock Ranch on Saturday.
DJ loved it! The only one he didn't want to try was the Braves batting or throwing, and I think it was because of the lines. 
I heart faces Wedding bells: I had a hard time deciding between this one that I chose: My sister in law and her attendants at the wedding.
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
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| From Online Edits |
He was mad because from where we were at after riding the John Deere Gators you couldn't see very well. So we went to go closer and he didn't want to leave his rock. 
The end of the race, they started pulling ducks out of the water about here. 
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
On the left here is my friend from work Cherry's husband and nephew. We ran into them when we got something to eat. 
The Monday after Jerry's surgery one of the girl's cats had kittens. These are the first pictures I have taken of them, and they are not the best in the world, but here they are. :)
All three pure white, except one has two tiny grey spots on its head.
Let me know if you want one! Two are bobtails.
DJ and I had a great day today at Rock Ranch!
Let me tell you, if you live in Georgia and you have never been, you need to go!
We arrived about 330, and were non-stop until the fireworks at 9:15.
I know I said it when we went last fall, but it is totally worth the admission price. It helped today that it was admission by the car load, but we would have still paid the per-person price.
Hopefully I can get pictures uploaded tomorrow. I am too sleepy right now! :)
Energizer and National Geographic are currently extending an invitation for any level of photographer to enter their most inspiring photographs for a chance to have the winning photo published in a special Energizer advertising section in the December 2009 issue of National Geographic magazine, and win the ultimate grand prize: A 10-day National Geographic Expeditions trip for two to the Galapagos Islands. Acclaimed photographer Jim Richardson will be judging the contest.
In honor of this contest, Dawn over at Home Sweet Home, is hosting a photo contest giveaway sponsored by Energizer and National Geographic. The winner will receive a one-year subscription to National Geographic magazine and a sample of Energizer lithium batteries.
So I decided to enter this picture that I took while I was exploring Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve, Florida.
Go over to: http://myhomesweethomeonline.net/2009/06/26/enter-your-photo-to-win-a-one-year-subscription-to-national-geographic-and-a-sample-of-energizer-lithium-batteries/ to enter Dawn's great contest and check out all of the entries.
And go here: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/energizer/index.html To enter the contest sponsored by National Geographic and Energizers contest.
All my friends in AZ:
Tomorrow, Saturday June 27th at 9AM we need every friend of education to come down to the legislature to protest the backroom deals being reached by the Governor and the Republican Leadership. This will be detrimental to public education!
If you have kids, or grandkids this should be important to you! Please go out and support the kids!
Yes I know I have posted ALOT today. But I couldn't let this one go by without putting it out there!
Remember last spring (as in 08) when I asked for prayers for my dear friends V and K? They had lost their baby boy at about 20 or so weeks.
Well today they had a beautiful baby boy!!!
I am so happy for them!
Congratulations to Mommy V, Daddy K, Big Sister D!!!
Welcome to the world Baby Matthew!!!!
WOW, just wow.
I never thought that expressing my thoughts and opinions on my facebook status would cause such a stir.
Early this morning I posted this:
Really thinking people need to get over the whole Michael Jackson thing! He was 50 for goodness sakes, not 25! Plus he lived a rough life with drugs, sex, and alcohol, why would we expect that he should get a free pass to live any longer than a different person that led that type of life?
I swear looking at CNN.com and the like the ONLY thing that has happened in the last 24 hours is Michael Jackson's passing!
You wouldn't know that President Obama met with the Chancellor of Germany.
You wouldn't know that Iran is still prosecuting people for their disagreements with the election results.
You wouldn't know that North Korea, is still, well, North Korea and threatening the United States.
You wouldn't know that Farrah Fawcett died yesterday too.
You wouldn't know that Arizona still doesn't have a budget.... and the one they are talking about cuts money to education... our future... where are their priorities....
You know what?
I am tired of hearing about Michael Jackson! I mean really, let it rest already!
Michael Jackson was 50 years old, not in his early 20's or even 30's.
Which means in my eyes at least, he lived a decently long life. He was not snubbed out in his prime. Yes he is leaving behind fairly young children, but with the life he led, I can't see how they are worse off with him gone.
Michael Jackson was a known pedophile. He preyed on young children, and did unacceptable things. If he had been an every day joe shmoe on the street, well he wouldn't have been on the street, he would have been in JAIL!! But no he bought his way out of it.
I understand that he was the biggest name of our childhood. And the first of our idols to pass. BUT he was not a GOOD person! He had major issues! I personally am suprised that he lived to be 50!
I don't understand the need of these people to "celebrate" a child molester.
I Heart Faces Is doing another cool giveaway! A one-of-a-kind camera strap from “Pepper: Spice Up Your Camera”!!
So go on over and enter to win!!!
This week was one that I wasn't really looking forward too.
At the end of the school year, we teachers were told that we had to attend several workshops over the summer as part of our contract for this coming year.
Which are words that no self respecting teacher wants to hear, that their summer vacation has turned into training. Plus when I added in the fact that Jerry was going to be 10 days out from surgery at the start of the week, and the girls would not be here to help him take care of DJ (they are in Mississippi until the 8th with Jerry's mom, long convaluted story about how I am not too happy that DJ had to stay home, but thats for another post another day), I just didn't really want to go to this training this week.
But let me tell you, Middle Georgia RESA, ROCKS!
This week was titled Elementary Academy grades 3-5.
It all revolved around economics and teaching it in the classroom.
Let me tell you, they did a great job, showing us how to get this concept across to our students.
Since I found out for sure that I would be teaching reading and social studies this coming year, I was nervous. Mostly because our social studies curriculum is almost non-existant. We discovered in about November that we had materials that we could use, but nothing as a whole class set, so I winged it a lot this past year.
Now thanks to this class this week, I know where to find resources to use. I feel 100% more confident teaching the standards for this year in social studies.
The other reason why this week was great, was Vacation Bible School with DJ. Our neighbors Z, N, C, Miss M and Mr. D (as in DJ's hero Z's family) invited DJ to attend their Vacation Bible School. Monday was a bit rough for him, because I, in my infinate wisdom, thought he would be ok staying while I came home. Um not so much. He got upset, and ended up staying with Miss M all evening.
So Tuesday I promised to stay with him and help his class. And we have had a great time! We have come home each night talking and singing in the car.
Everyone has made us feel very welcome and everyone is so nice.
Which I know, its a church gathering, thats how it should be. However, a friend of mine's daughter is having a horrible experience with a group of kids and even the one girl's mother at another church in the county. Her experiences with this group of people is why even though we have been reached out too by two of the families from that church, I have not even pushed the girls beyond the basic we have been invited to attend such in such service, do you want to go. Mostly because I know if Kelsey or Natalie was treated the way B has been treated in the last 6 months or so, it would turn them off of church forever.
I will have pictures from VBS to share later!
And boy am I tired!
I now believe (or really am reminded) that Pre-K teachers are angels on earth!
I spent the evening with DJ's group of 6 kids, with 3 adults, and they wore me out!
I don't know how Mrs. H and her entire crew at school do it day in and day out.
It was a great night of fellowship, and fun. Thank you to Mindy, Candy and Karen for inviting DJ. He is having a great time, and so am I!
If you are local, and want to come for the rest of the week, let me know and I will get you the details!
Kids entry: DJ running at Cassidy's pond:
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
Win a trip to Blogher! Go to http://www.blogher.com/special-offer-ford#comment-107096 All you have to do is be registered with blogher, and tell them in the comments which Ford you would want to drive on a road trip!
The Vintage Pearl: handmade goodies giveaway! Go enter to win a bunch of handmade goodies! 
and not enough people to eat them!
Slices and wedges waiting for the pickle juice.
Pickle juice ready to go in jars
Hot water bath
Finished product. 
Which are the only pictures I have, since I was in Florida for most of their visit. 
The Beauty of Life: The Blessings of Blogging - My 300th Post - And a Give-a-Way....
Go over and visit Shari's blog! She is celebrating her 300th post by giving away a gift certificate from http://www.lisaleonardonline.com/!!! The necklaces are some of the cutest I have seen in a long time!
Shellie at Blog 4 Mom has challenged the MomDot community to Write 4 You. In her words she says ” I challenge ALL of you to write and post from the heart, and focus on building relationships verses looking for the next big thing, big review or big stat. Can you accept this challenge and get back to why we blog?”
What she means is that we put so much pressure on ourselves to be invited, to be the next big thing in the blog community, to have 100s of comments, big reviews, and judge ourselves by our stats.
Instead, write a post for you and only for you. Talk about your life, your family, your dreams, whatever it is that is “you”.
Now we all know, or anyone who reads my blog on a semi-regular basis, my blog is all about me. I don't put on airs, I don't write about what I think other people want to hear. I write about our lives, as a military family, my life as a mom and a teacher. But I wanted to join in this challenge, as a chance to meet other bloggers, and see if there are other bloggers out there like me still, the ones that write for the same reasons I do.
I use my blog as a way to vent my feelings, express what I am thinking on an almost daily basis.
Do I sensor what I write about?
Sure I do. Because as a teacher, military wife and mom I am fully aware that someone out there could read what I write and I could suffer from it.
I could suffer proffesionally if I were to write about every little thing that happens at work, that I don't agree with. Or if I were to write about other teachers, or my students and their lives.
We could suffer as a family if I were to air all of my complaints about the Air Force, and the military.
We could also suffer as a family if I were to complain about every little thing that happens in our lives. Where would the trust be then?
I treat my blog as a journal, for the most part. A journal that I share with family, friends and even strangers, so I have to watch what I think and say. I try not to think a whole lot about what someone would think if they were to read my blog, but I know that I do.
Right now our family and therefore my blog are in constant state of change and worry. I worry about Jerry's surgery and health.
I worry about Jerry's recovery.
I worry about the girls being in Mississippi alone with MIL for a few weeks.
I worry about Kelsey falling off the horse this morning, less than 24 hours after getting to Mississippi.
I worry if DJ is ready for kindergarten, and what can I do to get him prepared in the next few weeks, since he didn't go to the prek summer program (at my choice since we were out of town.)
I worry about getting the lawn mower running again so I can finish mowing the grass. Z started it for us, and got most of it mowed, but the mower quit and now it wont restart. It bugs Jerry when the grass is long, and he so badly wants to get out there and cut it himself.
We really need a riding lawn mower to do the entire yard in one go, but who can afford one of those these days?
I worry about the house in Florida. It is trashed on the inside from what my MIL said after stopping by last week. I worry about making the payments on a house that we cant rent like it is, and I worry about finding the money to fix it up the way it needs to be fixed up in order to rent it out. I worry about the fact that the mortgage company will not help us, and will not talk to us until we fall further behind. I really think that they want us to go into foreclosure.
So thats all about me right now, my fears and worries.
I missed this last night when Jerry and the girls turned the show off. Caught it tonight. LOVE IT!!!
Since I have nothing really new to report today, other than the fact that the older two are safely in Mississippi for a few days or weeks (depends on how soon MIL is tired of them!), and Mom and Dad are on their way to Iowa. I figured I would post a few of the pictures that I took last week.
I love this guy! He walked out in front of me when I was on my walk, and just stopped. He wasn't super concerned about me! 
Bill Maher's Obama rant,
So what do you think? Is Obama spending too much time being a celebrity?
This morning Jerry and I had to run into the base to check in with Mrs. W his Tricare Case Manager.
She talked to us for a few minutes, then walked us down to the clinic so Jerry could get and fill out the paperwork for his convalescent leave. While he was filling that out Mrs. W, DJ and I walked down to the travel managers office so I could turn in our receipts, so we could be repaid for everything.
The travel manager, the same one that made a point to tell me in an email last week to bring everything into her as soon as we got back?
Yeah that one!
Well she is on leave this week, and wont be back until Monday. Convenient considering that they have training all this week on base.
Anyway I left everything with the fiance lady, and she said if she got a chance she would do it for me. I hope she will, because it sure would be nice to have that money back, sooner rather than later!
I just have to hope that the package doesn't get misplaced on one of the two desks!
Mrs. W then had E (Jerry's PCM's nurse) check Jerry's blood pressure, which was actually lower than E has ever seen it. So I have to take him back in tomorrow to have it checked again. They also want to keep an eye on his weight since he had lost 15 pounds between Friday and Sunday.
We were going to go to the BX, but by the time we went to BK and got lunch, Jerry was hurting so we came home. We can do the BX tomorrow.
My mom and dad are going to drop Kelsey and Natalie off at MIL's house tomorrow, for a couple of weeks. The girls asked Mom if they would mind driving down I20 to MIL's so they could spend time there. They had wanted to go for the entire summer, but that fell through, then they wanted MIL to come by here and pick them up on her way home from Jacksonville, but she wanted to go straight home. Either I will go get them around the 4th of July, or MIL will bring them home. Just depends on Jerry, I guess.
So it will be just us and DJ for a few weeks.
Oh and the animals, to include 3 new kittens that were born yesterday. Anyone want three pure white kittens? ;)
Kids Entry: This cutie belongs to my friend Sherri:
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
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| From 2009-05-25 memorial day weekend |
And Jerry is resting. He didn't want to lay down right away and didn't want to take any more pain medication so by the time he did he was hurting.
The labs that were scheduled for today were ran yesterday at the hospital, so as soon as I ran to Evil Empire to get a money order for our rent, and got that in the mail we left for home.
Let me just say that the beds at the hotel on Mayo were so much more comfortable than the other hotel! I slept like a baby. :)
I was hoping that Jerry would not need to go into the base for a few days, but I just talked to his case manager and she would like to see him tomorrow some time. :sigh:
I don't think that Dr. B's secretary understood what I needed when I called and asked her for a letter outlining to the Air Force what Jerry can and can't do for the next few weeks. She said she will mail one out to me, but I asked Mrs. W to call Nurse R and get something from them.
Our trip home was uneventful, Jerry slept most of the way, thanks to his pain medication. Good thing too, since on I95 you can't avoid all of the potholes. ;)
My mom and dad are going to stay in the hotel down off the interstate for a couple of nights, so that Jerry can sleep in his own bed tonight.
Does Tricare pay for you to go to the Mayo Clinic? (according to sitemeter)
Long answer short....
Sometimes.
Long answer long...
The individual case has to go before the Tricare panel, and they make the final determination.
In our case Jerry's specialists in Warner Robins and Macon all agreed and wrote to the panel that the best course of action for his surgery was to come here and have the best doctors, the ones that pioneered the surgery, do the surgery. As they all (6 of them total) felt that with Jerry's history with high blood pressure, the severity of the hernia/esphogeal erosion, potassium problems, the best solution was to have him taken care of here.
It took Tricare almost 6 months to agree to send us here for even the consultation, and then another couple of weeks after that for them to agree to allow the clinic to do the surgery.
Your best solution is to ask for an active duty Tricare case worker to be assigned to your case. This is usually an RN that works closely with your military doctors, Tricare approved off base doctors, and Tricare. They are supposed to look over your records and coordinate with all of the medical parties concerned to make sure that Tricare and all of the doctors know what is happening.
The caseworker in Jerry's case is a wonderful woman Mrs. W, who has fought for him tooth and nail to get him the best care possible.
Its been a long day!
Jerry's blood pressure was high all night, so the nurse and tech were in and out about every hour. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I don't think for the most part they really woke Jerry up. Go figure.
This morning his blood pressure was still running high, but not to where they were worried about it. So about 8:45 I told Jerry I was going to go back to the hotel, take a shower and a nap, and would be back.
MIL and BIL met me at the first floor elevator. I think I upset MIL because I wasn't waiting for the Dr. Howsers* to come and check in. But I needed an escape for a few hours. MIL stayed with Jerry long enough to meet with the Dr. Howsers and ask them questions. She said it sounds like they are going to wait until we come back in July to see what happens with his potassium as he is being weaned off of the reflux medicine. Which sounds like a decent plan to me.
I went back to the hotel, took a shower, and then relaxed for a bit. I couldn't fall asleep like I wanted so I ended up packing up all of our stuff and putting it in the car. I figured if Jerry stayed in the hospital I could get up early and check us out in the morning, not having to worry about getting our stuff.
While I was grabbing some lunch Jerry called me and said that they were releasing him. So I came back to the hospital and waited with him.
Jerry was released from the hospital about 3 pm this afternoon.
Since it was so late in the afternoon, and since we are not sure if he has an appointment tomorrow or not, we are staying again tonight. We have schedules that have an appointment for in the morning with the doctor, and another that does not have one until July. Plus we need to get a note from Jerry's doctor about his restrictions and what not for work. Goodness knows that some of the idiots that he works with will expect him to be back to normal on Tuesday!
I asked Jerry about the three flights of stairs at our hotel, and he said they had an elevator, but I think it was broken more than it worked, since I never saw anyone use it. Plus I was going to have to ask for clean sheets for the bed, and we would have to share a bed tonight, or more than likely I would be sleeping on the floor. I decided that we should check out from there and check in to one of the hotels on Mayo property. If we have to pay for it ourselves we will.
After I got Jerry comfortable at the hotel on Mayo, I went to check out of the other hotel, then to get his prescriptions filled. I went to the Evil Empire by the hotel, and they didn't have 3 of the medicines. The tech called the two Evil Empires that are closer to Mayo, and one of them had all of the prescriptions.
The only problem then was that the one reflux medicine that the Dr. Howsers gave him is not covered by Tricare, without prior approval. Luckily the pharmacist called over here to the hospital and talked to the Dr. Howsers and they changed that medicine, plus changed the dosage of the potassium prescription so that the strength that Evil Empire had in stock would work.
Now we are relaxing at the hotel. Jerry has taken a nap and a shower. I have eaten dinner from the restaurant.
Tomorrow I will get up early and call to double check Jerry's schedule, and put in a call to Dr. B's nurse about the letter for the Air Force. Then we should be on our way home. It will probably take us a long time to get home, since I don't know how long Jerry will be able to ride.
We just turned out the lights to see if Jerry can go to sleep unaided. I doubt it, but its worth a try.
He is still in quite a bit of pain, and his blood pressure is higher than they would like.
They are just not sure if his blood pressure is a result of the pain or not. I am thinking not, since it does not seem to be coming down after they give him his pain medication. It might come down a little bit, but not a ton.
Not that either of the Dr. Howsers have been to see him since this morning.
I have a feeling he will not be discharged tomorrow, not that I want him to be, especially with his blood pressure and what not being high!
I also am not looking forward to having to try and get him to the third floor of our hotel! So hopefully they will keep him until at least Monday. That is when we are supposed to check out anyway, so if we are to stay for a couple more days, I will check us out and then move to the hotel here at the clinic. The hotel here has elevators if they have to put us above the first floor! Plus payday is Monday, so even if Jerry isn't released I can check us in with our debit card, and not stress too much about not being able to use Jerry's card. The military can just pay us back, rather than pay the card (its what will happen for the hotel we have now!)
I am staying with him again tonight, his blood pressure is high enough to worry even an old hat like me. Plus its easier on him to get me to do for him, than to have to call for the nurse or tech to come, and have to wait on them.
As for my BIL, Jerry thinks he is more nervous and upset about Jerry having this surgery and being in pain, and thats why he is sooooo talkative. Could be, I haven't ever spent this much time with him, but I know that he is always a talkative one. I just normally have an escape route. ;)
Well Jerry has stopped wiggling around, so maybe he is asleep. I guess I should try to get some too.
5 minutes for Mom, and HP are working together to give a special military member a new laptop to take with them on their next deployment.
Here are all of the details:
We wish we could slip an HP Mini in every soldiers bag before they sling it over their shoulder and board their plane. But, we can slip it into ONE soldier’s bag — one special soldier who may need an extra boost of encouragement for themselves or their family.
HP is providing one HP Mini 1000 for us to giveaway. Because the Mini is designed for people on the go, we want to give it to a member of the military so they can keep in touch with the world they had to leave behind.
The HP Mini 1000 retails starting at $299.99 and at less than an inch thick and weighing little more than 2 pounds, it won’t weigh a soldier down!
The HP Mini 1000 includes Genuine Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 3 for getting things done and staying connected in a protected environment, an Ethernet jack, two USB ports, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless capabilities as well as a built in webcam and microphone. It also boasts a keyboard that is nearly full size at 92% of a regular keyboard.
All of these combine together to create the perfect station for storing photos, music and files while giving you access to the internet and to family even when far from home.
If you know of a deserving member of our military go over to 5 Minutes for Mom and nominate them!
I realized that I never said where we are at in case anyone needs to get a hold of us.
Jerry is in room 308 of the Jacksonville Mayo Clinic.
We have both of our cell phones if you have those numbers. Or obviously you can email me.
Right now Jerry has only been out of bed twice, the first time he walked down the hall about 10 feet, then the last time we went about 20 feet.
His swallow study came back clear, so Dr. Loogie Howser* said he could start clear liquids today. So about 11:45 or so they brought him some water.
He was having pain when he swallowed so he was not drinking a whole lot. The nurse vented his stomach tube, and that helped. Jerry forgot that it was in, or what it was for, so she taught him something new (Dr. Doogie Howser* told MIL, BIL and I last night.)
BIL has hardly shut up since he came in the door this morning. You can tell Jerry is out of it, because he has not told him to shush. I am not sure why he is even still here. I know he came last night to support his mom and check on Jerry, but he is still in the room with us, and is talking almost non-stop.
MIL went back to the hotel to rest, and to let Jerry get some rest, I think she was hinting to BIL to let Jerry get rest, and he didn't get it. The thing about it is that this is Jerry's older half brother that he really never grew up with. He has had a rough life, so a lot of his talking deals with that, or fishing, or politics, or reality tv (he and MIL had an hour long discussion about "cheating" and Judge Judy, earlier today).
I almost feel like asking Dr. Loogie Howser* to give me pain meds. ;)
I mean really! First there was the big April Rose hub bub of late (luckily for me something just felt off when I first visited that blog, so I never reposted it.)
Now there is this person: http://babyfatfitness.ca/Blog/?p=164 who stole the pictures from: http://myenchanteddandelions.blogspot.com/ 's esty store page.
I understand that there is nothing wrong with two different women selling the same products, or the same types of products. But using someone else's exact pictures? That they took? Give me a break!
Go over to http://myenchanteddandelions.blogspot.com/ and check out what she has to say about this whole business.
In my last post I said Dr. Doogie Howser* had gone home.
He just came in with two other of the surgical residents to check on Jerry.
I told him that I thought he had gone home, and he just shrugged.
I reminded them that Dr. B had said they would run some tests today and tomorrow for his blood pressure and potassium levels and Dr. Howser* and company said they were.
Like MIL said, its our job to make sure that they do what we need them to do. :)
We had a fairly good night.
They gave Jerry his pain meds about 11:45, and then medicine to help him sleep about 12:15.
When the nurse came in to give him the sleeping medicine, I had just started to fall asleep, so at first I thought someone was coming into the hotel room. :-o
Once I figured it out, we both slept most of the night.
I only woke up once or twice from them coming in to check on Jerry. I know they are keeping an eye on his blood pressure, pretty close.
Is it sad that the pull out couch in the hospital room is more comfortable than the bed in my hotel room?
This morning he has already had his swallow study. Of course the radiology tech didn't tell the nurse that he was back from that. So she came in when she heard MIL, and BIL talking, and said oh you're back. Then she asked how long he had been back for, which by that point was about 30 minutes. :shrug:
While he was at his swallow study I ran to the hotel and got cleaned up. I timed it pretty well, as he got back to his room right before I got back.
I brought back clothes to change into, but my gatorade spilled, so my shirts that I grabbed are now dirty.
AHHHHH! I need to find a laundry mat I guess.
They want Jerry to get up and walk today. Right now he doesn't want to because going for his swallow study wore him out. Hopefully around lunch time he will feel up to it again.
Dr. Doogie Howser* has been replaced by another Dr. Loogie Howser*. Another young doctor. This one though didn't ask as many questions or explain as much, but we were both pretty sleepy still.
Finally...
I think Jerry finally was brought down to the regular floor about 7:15 or so.
At about 5:45 or so, the volunteer that had been giving us updates since 3:30 said that they were doing the nurse turn over, and that he would be moved down shortly. MIL and I asked about going to get something to eat, and she said we had time, plus it would give them time to get him settled in.
So we walked over to the hotel on the Mayo property where MIL is staying because there is a restaurant there. BUT the restaurant is not open on Friday or Saturday night. We decided that we could go down the road a bit to get something to eat, and just as we got in MIL's truck BIL Toby pulled up next to us. We knew he was thinking about coming up earlier in the day, and he had called about an hour before saying he was almost here, but we still didn't expect him so soon.
MIL, BIL and I went to Denny's for dinner (yesterday's lunch was much better!)
When we got back Jerry was in his room, but you could tell he was in a lot of pain. He had tears in his eyes, and was gritting his teeth. The nurse was giving him his pain meds, and what not, but it wasn't getting better. We figured it hadn't had time yet to kick in, since she had just put it in his iv.
He asked if he could have a drink, or at least rinse his mouth out, and thats when he scared the H$ll out of me!
When they sat him up a bit to do that, he had sharp shooting pains in his left side of his chest, and could not breathe. Every time he took a breathe it got worse.
They checked his O2 stats and it was down in the low 80s.
The nurse called for Dr. Doogie Howser* who came and ordered an EKG, and Chest xray, as well as stayed until Jerrry was breathing normal again. Both the EKG and xray came back in the normal range (well normal compared to yesterday's EKG), so Dr. Howser* thinks that he had a air bubble under his diaphram that got shifted when they sat him up, that was causing the pain. I think between giving him another "shot" of pain meds, and sitting him straight up for the chest xray it helped. Dr. Howser* raised his pain medication, so that helps too. The plan is to stay on top of it tonight, and see how it goes.
Right now they have him on an oxygen mask, rather than the nasal canual that they had him in to start with, and its turned up pretty high, but they want to keep it there for a while tonight to make sure he stays ok. Dr. Howser* said that he will be around and in and out all night to check on him.
MIL went back to her hotel shortly after all the fuss settled down, after giving me orders to call her if we need her.
BIL went back to MIL's hotel room while I was at our hotel getting clothes for the night. I think Jerry was glad about that because BIL likes to talk and make jokes and Jerry isn't up for that.
I know Jerry is scared and worried, and in pain.
Know how I know?
Because normally he kicks me out of the hosptial room, back home to sleep.
Tonight I asked if he would be ok long enough for me to run to the hotel to get clothes to sleep in (other than my jeans and blouse I had on), and he said yes, but hurry back.
I know that normally we have the kids to think about, but this morning and yesterday both Jerry mentioned me going to the hotel to sleep, because it would be uncomfortable here.
*Dr. Howser, is a surgical resident here at the Mayo, and isn't really as young as the TV Icon, but compared to all the other Doctors we have seen this week, he is young! Kinda cute too, but thats besides the point. I really like him though, because he took the time to explain to us (Jerry, MIL, BIL, and I) what was happening and why he thought it was happening. He also explained about Jerry's stomach tube and the tests that they will run tomorrow, and Sunday, and why they will run them. That part was especially nice since everything Dr. B said earlier was a blur as far as that goes. He also impressed me because he called one of the other doctors on call and let them know what was going on, and asked if they had any other tests that they would run. As I heard him tell them, he knew that he was doing the right things, but in a case like Jerry's (the high blood pressure, and potassium issues) getting a second opinion right away just felt better.
Jerry is finally out of surgery.
The doctor said the hole in his diaphram was about the size of making a C with your thumb and pointer finger. Plus his stomach had gone up to his esphogus, so they had to do more than they would on a "normal" person. They cut one of the nerves that goes to his stomach to give them enough room to pull his esphogus where it needs to be, then got rid of the hernia, put in a stomach tube (I don't remember why, but it was something he had said he might have to do.)
Dr. B said that all of Jerry's labs came back in the acceptable range today, so that they could do the surgery, and there is a couple of syndromes that could be the cause of his potassium problems. So since they have him here they are going to run more tests and what not to see if they can figure it out. Plus he has asked a couple of the big wig specialists to check in on him.
Dr. B said with his history he will be inpatient longer than a normal person that has this surgery.
Since when has my husband been normal?
Its been about 3 hours since the volunteer came and told us (Jerry's mom and I) that he had been taken back for surgery.
This is taking longer than I thought it would. Not that I knew how long to expect, but I wasn't expecting it to be this long.
The volunteer just came and told MIL and I that Jerry went into surgery between 11:05 and 11:35.
Now for the wait.
I have no idea how long this will take. The doctor said it depends on what he finds and how easy the hernia is to repair.
They took him back about an hour ago, but the last update about 10 minutes ago was that he was still in holding.
It looks like its going to be a long day.
Well we are now back at the hotel.
The wait for the standby slot for the Electrocardiogram was not super long. As long as they don't call this afternoon to say there is a problem the surgery is scheduled for in the morning.
Jerry's mom is on here way here, probably will be here in the next 2 hours or so.
Jerry is taking a nap, and I think I am going to do so as well.
As we were walking in for Jerry's pre-op appointment Dr. B's nurse R called. They want to run an Electrocardiogram and an Echocardiogram.
So we will be at the Clinic most of the day.
Well today was supposed to be a long day, chock full of appointments, one right after the other according to our schedule they gave us on Tuesday.
We arrived with pleanty of time for the first one, which was a preadmissions with the one nurse.
During that appointment Dr. B's nurse R stopped by and said that the appointment we had scheduled for this morning is a no go. She had scheduled it, as a just in case appointment, and Jerry doesn't need it. So she cancelled it.
Cool! Bonus!
Then we came down to the lab for a type and screen (even though Jerry knows his blood type.) and we have been here waiting for about 20 minutes now. Lucky Jerry can sleep just about anywhere and is taking a nap while we wait. I on the other hand can not. So I am glad I brought the laptop with me today.
As soon as we are done here, we will go across the hall so he can do his pre-op admissions paperwork. This appointment was scheduled for late this afternoon, but according to the scheduler in Dr. B's office, we can go at any time, its not a set in stone thing.
I need to go back to to the hotel before his appointment with the general doctor that does the last minute approval for surgery, and grab his medicine. The paperwork from the hospital in WR says that he is to take 40mg of something, but it says it like it is one pill, which did not show up on the computer as an option. Jerry says he takes 2 20mg pills, but the nurse wants to make sure we have it all in the computer right.
I am not sure what we will do when we get done here for the day. I crammed so much in yesterday, thinking that the next couple of days would be full here at the Clinic. Jerry is actually feeling better today than he has all week, so he may actually want to go do something with me. Novel thought! ;)
I am not sure now when we will be heading home. Our schedule we got in the mail last week said that he had an appointment on Monday, the latest schedule does not have that one on it.
I feel pretty confident saying we wont go anywhere before Sunday though.
Today was an "off" day from the Mayo Clinic, compared to the last two days, and the next two days.
Meaning, Jerry only had one appointment, unlike 3-5 the last two days, or the 6 tomorrow, and surgery on Friday.
We got up and headed down to Mayo about 7:45, Jerry turned in his 24 hour sample, and then we headed upstairs for his CT scan.
Jerry got taken back pretty close to his appointment time, and was in the back for about 90 minutes. The stuff they made him drink, and put in his IV to make the CT scan work made him feel pretty yucky. So when we left we went to Publix and bought bottled water (the water at the hotel is YUCKY!) Stopped and got some lunch, then came back to the hotel.
Once I had him settled in, I took off and went exploring.
I went to the Guana Tolomato Matanzas Reserve. I saw tortise, frogs, armadillos, and lots of birds. I will post pictures later. :)
This morning was day two of our Mayo Clinic adventures.
We were slightly worried that Dr. B would want to cancel Jerry's surgery, upon the advice of Dr. A (the kidney transplant specialist) yesterday.
All was well though, as Dr. B and his team think that they need to do the surgery sooner rather than later.
Dr. B then refered us to an Endocrologist (sp), Dr. M and Dr. G.
So we killed a few hours at the mall and went back to see Dr. M and Dr. G. They listened to what we told them. Then looked at what has already been ran and they want to run a CAT Scan tomorrow morning (so much for a day off from the clinic), to see if Jerry's adrinal glands have any problems.
Dr. G did say that there is definately something wrong when Jerry does any kind of exercise, and his potassium drops dramatically. So that is something none of the kidney doctors have ever told us.
Well we are one day and 5 appointments done at the Mayo Clinic.
Of course the first 4 appointments were for a gastric emptying study, so I suppose they could be considered as one really long appointment. Except that we got to walk around the campus, and actually come back to the hotel between the last two.
This afternoon was with a Kidney Transplant specialist. Dr. A did not have access to all of Jerry's medical records as far as his high blood pressure/potassium problems. So we had to go through everything in Jerry's history that we could remember. Which means that there are probably multiple medicines, tests, etc. that we either forgot about, or never knew the results of. I volunteered several times to call Jerry's tricare manager at Robins and ask her to fax the information down, and Dr. A declined. Even with us telling him honestly that we were sure that we were forgetting things. I am almost positive that if he had everything in front of him he would find something that someone else overlooked, thats how through his questioning was.
He was most amazed though that the Air Force doctors never have pushed the high blood pressure/potassium issue as far as finding out the cause until Jerry was hospitalized last year. He looked at us like we were crazy when we said that really the most extensive testing has occured in the last year. Yes he went to Landstuhl once for a week, and twice to a specialist in Pensacola, neither of which turned up with anything.
Dr. A said he thought Dr. Gupta with CNN would be amazed at the waste of resources with a case history like Jerry's. Like I said, we told him that we were sure we were forgetting tests, and the like, but he said they should have pushed it more, not moved us from Eglin until they figured it out, because all they did was push the problem off on yet another doctor.
Now the problem here arises in the fact that this good Doctor A does not want Dr. B to do the surgery on Friday. At least not until the potassium problem is solved.
Dr. A arranged for Jerry to have several tests run in the lab this afternoon (so I guess 6 appointments in one day when you add those in). When he gets the results of those he will give his formal opinion on surgery.
What is most frustrating about this, possiblity of not doing the surgery, is that most of the specialists that Jerry has seen in Georgia seem to be in agreement that the surgery will help with his high blood pressure, because of how severe his hernia is, and how far into his chest cavity it goes.
Then for us, you also have to figure in that this would once again be a wasted trip. Because it sure didn't feel like Dr. A was going to help us solve the potassium problem. It just felt like he was amused that the Air Force has let it slide for this long. It seems like the doctors all want to blame this potassium problem on Jerry's past drinking, which yes it probably is a result of, BUT its only gotten worse since he quit drinking. None of the doctors want to give us or help us discover a way to help the problem.
Oh and add in that once again my parents will have traveled (or at least my dad, again, mom for the first time) from Arizona to Georgia to watch the kids for us, for the doctors to do nothing!
We meet with the surgeon tomorrow morning, and I am praying that Jerry's potassium test that he had this afternoon will come back high enough that they will either admit him to pump up his potassium to where they will do the surgery, or that it is high enough to where they feel comfortable doing the surgery.
Of course Jerry said if it has dropped dramatically since last Friday, maybe they will admit him to see if they can figure it all out once and for all.
I will never trust Mapquest again!
Finding our hotel, was no big deal, the directions were very clear and we made it without at problem.
I knew from the Mayo Clinic's lodging map, that our hotel was not super far away from the Clinic, but could not really tell how to get there from here. So I Mapquested it.
Turns out that Mapquest has the WRONG address for the Mayo Clinic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank goodness we decided that when we went out to find food for the night to find out where we were going in the morning. Because in the morning we would have been screwed and Jerry would have missed his appointment!
Mapquest has you leave our hotel, go north/northwest about 7 miles, then wind around and around a couple of side streets. We ended up in a neighborhood that has multimillion dollar homes, right on either the river or the bay! We saw cars worth $70-80 thousand, homes that resemble castles, and river/bay views to die for! There was a home for sale by Sotheby's, that just glancing at the website is $4.9 million!
Jerry and I joked that Mapquest was giving directions out to one of the Mayo Clinic's head doctors home! (We were calling him Dr. Mayo, not that there is such a person, that was our joke though!)
I really want to go back tomorrow or Wednesday when we have nothing to do and take a picture of the neighborhood, just to show on here where Mapquest sent us!
Once we found our way back to the I-95 we went clear north to 9A and back down to the Mayo Clinic because Jerry knew how to get to the Mayo Clinic that way. Talk about a LONG way around, we really aren't that far away when you know where to go, but going the way we did was about 40 miles. LOL
We stopped at the Courtyard by Marriot on Mayo property and the nice registration clerk gave me wonderful directions back to our hotel. When I told her what happened, she said it happens all of the time, because Mapquest has the WRONG address!
I also told the Dr that was checking in as I was getting directions that we could have ridden down with him, he had Bibb County tags on his car. At first he looked at me funny, and then I told him that we lived in Twiggs, and that I just happened to notice his tags when we pulled in as he got out of the car. He laughed and said you should have, I had pleanty of room!
So if you have to come to the Mayo Clinic here in Jacksonville, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT trust Mapquest! Or if you do make sure that you put in the address that is on your paperwork!!!!!!
Jerry and I will be leaving soon for Jacksonville.
I talked to my mom about an hour ago and they were about 2 hours out.
Jerry's first of many appointments is at 7 am tomorrow at the Mayo Clinic, and our hotel is only about 8 miles from there.
I should have access to the internet at the hotel, so I hope to keep everyone updated.
One of my former students from Lakenheath passed away early this morning from Stage 4 Lung Cancer.
I am at a loss for words, for once.
I was really hoping for a miracle.
Rest in Peace Matt, rest in peace. Know that you were loved, and that you will be missed.
As my friend Lori said, he was one that I can see meeting at the pearly gates, saying "What a wild ride!" :)
Matt Armjio 1986-2009.
The 48th Brigade from here in Georgia only deployed last month to Afganistan. This morning we woke to the awful news that three members of the Brigade have been killed.
Rest in Peace:
Maj. Kevin M. Jenrette of Lula;
Staff Sgt. John C. Beale of Riverdale,
and Spc. Jeffrey W. Jordan of Rome.
Thank you for your service to our country and may you rest in peace.
If you missed Mr. Keegan's final graduation speech EVER go to: https://www.doddsegrads.net/ Login 2009grads password: lucky2009
Slip and fall while trying to unpack boxes in your dining room/kitchen?
My arm hurts like it did 6 years ago when I fell at the Rod and Gun and broke my elbow.
If it still hurts like this tomorrow I will go to the urgent care when Jerry goes on base to print his orders.
http://www.christianpf.com/wii/ Christian Personal Finance is giving away a Wii and an Ipod. Go on over and enter today!
Our travel plans have been 99% firmed up for next week.
I went and saw Mrs. W, Jerry's Tricare manager on Robins, after we stopped and saw Jerry.
Mrs. W called the Mayo Clinic and as long as his potassium stays stable next week they want to go ahead with the surgery. Mostly because the next availbilty would have been on July 8th (our anniversary), and chances are he would go through this cycle again before then anyway.
So right now the plan is for Jerry and I to drive down Sunday night, and for him to go into the Mayo Clinic on Monday and Tuesday for several series of tests. A couple of which were appointments that he was supposed to have done yesterday, today, and tomorrow at Robins, but....
Wednesday should be a down day with no appointments, then he will be admitted on Thursday for his pre-op, with the surgery on Friday. I have not gotten a straight answer about how long he will be in the hospital after the surgery. Most things that I can find on the web indicate 24 hours, so perhaps we will be gone right at a week.
The only hold up in the process right now is that the Ssgt. in charge of cutting orders for the hospital on base is hard headed, or hard of hearing, or just plain stupid. She could not get it through her head that Jerry was in the hospital and could not bring her the paperwork that she kept telling Mrs. W and myself that she needed. After about 10 minutes Mrs. W got her to understand that we have to leave Sunday, and that Jerry probably will not be out of the hospital in time to bring it to her, so Mrs. W is going to take the paperwork over and then they are to call me so I can get the orders picked up. Not sure why I am surprised, that this Ssgt. is a pita, she is the one that doesn't seem to think I need to go with Jerry to his surgery. Good thing she doesn't get to make the decision!
Hopefully Mrs. W will call in the morning and I can go pick up Jerry's orders, and we can be set to go on Monday. I have got to check out hotels and all of that fun stuff tonight, which is the real reason we need the orders cut before we go, without them we don't have acess to the government card.
My parents are leaving Phoenix tomorrow morning, and hopefully will be here on Sunday (their 40th wedding anniversary!). The kids will stay here with them.
Amazing... the Capt. Dr. that insisted that Jerry go to the hospital last night... has not once checked in with Jerry. I am sure he has talked to the hospital, but not once to the actual patient! What a jerk.
If it is funny or sad that the fact that Jerry is in the hospital, once again, with no answers, doesn't even effect the kids or I any more.
I mean seriously, the only thing I did different last night was take the phone into the bedroom with me, and leave the bedroom door open.
Oh and turned off the alarm clock. ;)
A year ago, the second time he was in the hospital, I was a wreck, just like the first time he was in the hospital.
Now I am like, whatever, maybe they will find an answer this time to what is going on.
What gets me, is they can't even say this time that it is because he isnt taking his medicine the way he should, because he has been. Plus he has been eating and drinking things with extra potassium in it. All because of his surgery that is scheduled for next week.
Jerry got mad at me when I told him that he needed to call the tricare lady on base to find out what was going to happen now. He doesn't seem to get it, that I need to know so I can let my parents know. If we are not going to Florida next week there is no reason for them to drive out here this weekend, they can and should wait until the surgery is rescheduled. Or if the doctors decide to pump him up and send him early, I need to know that too, so we can figure out how to deal with the kids, until my parents can get here.
I guess I need to head into town and see if I can get answers.
I had a message from Richard this morning about Matt:
"They have matt on comfort care now which bassically means give him lots of drugs and they have decided to bring him home and have a home nurse from hospise to be here. This looks to be the worst. Thank you for the prayers and matt thanks you too."
Please continue to keep the entire Armijo family in your thoughts and prayers. It hurts more than you can imagine to have to just sit here, and not be able to do something for a family that I care about.
I also talked to Jerry about 30 minutes ago. His potassium at the hospital last night was a 2.4, so they ran an iv, pretty much wide open, planning on sending him home about 10:30 last night. However he ended up getting sick, and having a horrible headache, so they kept him and gave him morphine, so instead of sending him home they admitted him. He wasn't sure what the plan or thought of action was going to be today.
It has been a day....
I talked to my friend L this morning, who had talked to a close friend of Matt's parents either last night or this morning. It does not sound promising (24-48 hours). Please keep Matt, and his entire family (including his fiancee) in your thoughts and prayers. Pray that Matt is at peace and not in pain at this time, and that his family is comforted.
Then our lucheon at school, well, there were people that did not pay to eat, or that wanted chicken, that ate steak. So those of us that worked our tails off coordinating the event, preparing food, purchasing food, plating food, decorating, etc (ok not that I worked too hard on any of it today, my mind was in Texas with Matt and his family) ended up having to share steaks, because we served everyone else first. The committee bought 5 extra steaks, just in case, but still we (the committee) ended up sharing steaks, while others had enough to take home. I guess I am an honest enough person that if I had not paid for a meal, and someone had sat a plate in front of me, I would have said, I didn't pay yet, is there enough? Or I didn't pay yet, did you order extra, or should I get chicken. Let's put it this way, 45 people had paid as of yesterday, and 57 people ate today according to the potato count.
Sigh.
I was already upset about Matt, and this just made me mad. So I know that I said things that were not very nice, but the people I was mean about are more than likely the ones that didn't pay, or said they wanted chicken and then ate the steak. And they acted like it was their god given right to sit there and watch us all work our tails off to make this a nice meal, and look down at us.
Of course our air conditioner here at the house is still broken, so it was hotter than h#ll in the house when I got home. So I took the kids and we went to the BX furniture store, to price full sized mattress sets, which of course the BX has only the most expensive set in stock, because of course there is a sale, and they wont give you a rain check for the one that we wanted. After we left the furniture store we ran to the main BX to get a new water hose for Jerry (he ran over the other one with the lawn mower the other night).
While we were at the BX Jerry called and said meet me at the ER....
I thought he did something stupid.
Nope turns out he has a new primary care doctor on base, who believes that potassium below a 3.0 is critical (which it is, but Jerry rarely is above that.) The Capt. ordered Jerry to the ER to get potassium, and when Jerry argued and wanted to wait until the morning and have them do another draw before going to the hospital, the Capt. threatened paperwork. So Jerry, because he can't afford to get written up, took his unhappy behind to the ER, and the kids and I met him there.
Is it a bad thing when the ER nurses and doctors know your husband by name, and even joke that he is there for his monthly fill up?
Cause thats what happened when we went to the back.
The ER doctor ordered and EKG and their own potassium check to make sure that the levels weren't a lab error. But he also said that if this new doctor was going to send Jerry to the ER every time his potassium drops below a 3.0, the new doctor had better work harder than the others to get to the bottom of what is causing his potassium to drop, or else Jerry will be living in the hospital.
From there my day just got worse, if possible.
I came home and decided to hook up the new hose to the hose pipe in the well house to water the garden, its been about a week with no rain, and my peppers were looking wilted.
I hooked up the hose, and started untangling it, not even pulling on the hose pipe, when BAM! The hose pipe broke off the pipe in the well house. On the wrong side of the shut off valve.
I looked for a shut off switch for the motor, couldn't find it, so I yelled at Natalie to run to the neighbors and ask if Mr. Adam could come see if he could help me at least turn it off, until I could get the landlord out to fix it (yeah really looking forward to no water all night). Luckily Adam came over, he couldn't find the switch in the well house either, but we turned off the breaker (don't ask, I wasn't thinking about a breaker at the time!) Adam asked when Jerry was going to be home, and when I said hopefully tomorrow because he is in the hospital, Adam went home and found a new hose pipe fixture in his shop, brought it back and fixed the pipe for me. By the time the landlord got back to me, Adam had it fixed. Thank goodness for good neighbors!
Right now I am not sure how Jerry going into the hospital for potassium is going to effect his surgery next week, or if it will at all. I called and left a message for the one lady at the hospital to get in touch with Jerry's tricare manager for me about it, because I don't have the tricare managers phone number to call her myself.
I am hoping that she will take this as a sign that we need to get him down to the Mayo Clinic and let them do their thing, rather than the plan right now of having all of the tests ran here and the results sent to the Mayo Clinic. I know that will mean all of us going down, and then me bringing the kids to my parents when they get here, but that is preferable to this crap of not knowing.
Please keep my former student Matt in your thoughts and prayers.
Matt is suffering from lung cancer at the age of 22. He is in the hospital in San Antonio. It does not sound good.
But man thats not what happens in the book!!! :(
I still have a feeling we will be at the midnight showing on the 20th of November.
I Heart Faces contest this week is all about birthdays and pets!
So here is my kid entry for the birthdays contest:
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