Were Witty: April 2010

What's Old is New Again

Scotty is once again back in physical therapy. Today went well. I'm not in love with the therapist but then again we've been spoiled with the absolute best therapists around.
This chick will be fine I'm sure.
We modified the goals we had at Rush and things are going to be more attainable now.
You won't be getting daily reports from me on how far Scott walked. In fact we're not going to get him walking at all. Standing yes, walking no.
It's taken some time for Scott and I to come to the harsh realization that his leg just is not capable of walking any longer. Sad but true.
This realization helps us move forward though and while we both wish it wasn't the case we feel empowered and a strange sort of peace.
Let's focus on the important things. Scott is still here. We're spending lots of time together as a family. We can still have a rocking good time with friends. We can still go places and do things. And did I mention, Scott's still here.

Scott L. came over for a visit this afternoon. The Scott's played together in The Jenkins Band back in the day for a period of time. My Scott on drums and Scott L on keyboards.
I have met Scott L. briefly a few times over the years but never really knew him. The friend of a friend thing got him to this blog and ever since Scott L. has been a new/old friend again.
The boys had a great time reminiscing and getting to know each other again. I think they both found some common ground on being terrific fathers.
The best part he's got two little boys one is a little older than Kate and the other is a little younger and he only lives 3 minutes away. All this time we've practically been neighbors.

You may not hear from me tomorrow night. We're going to the prom. You read that right I said PROM. Our little group of friends decided that our next get together would have a prom theme. Tuxes (wait until you see Scott's) dresses (thanks for the hook up Saskija) corsages, boutonnieres, music, disco ball, balloons. Think the dance scene from Footloose except in Mark and Jay'me's basement.

Yup, going to be a good time.
Send in a rescue squad if you don't hear from me by Saturday night. Planning on doing so much dancing I may not be able to walk for awhile.

And the Beat Goes On

Why is it that I can never really have a boring, uneventful, day that runs perfectly? Did I commit some heinous crime in a past life or something?
Seriously, I lay awake at 5am and alternate between trying to convince myself to get up and workout and planning my day. By the time 6am has rolled around, I'm still snuggled in bed but my day is mapped out to almost perfection.

On good days I get until 9 or maybe 10am before my "perfect" plans have gone right out the window, making way for chaos, anarchy and mass confusion. Leaving me tired, confused, and defeated at the end of the day.
Maybe I need to get up and use that hour to work out, then I would at least have some results. But that would mean 90 minutes of exercise and I'm just so not into that. Too much sweating, yuck.

Today, I made it until 8:30. Got K dropped at school, realized I left my phone at home, ran home, find out that Scott had been calling me because he didn't feel well.

There goes my Starbucks, leisurely toddler free grocery store and post office run.

Fortunately, Scott's ickyness (yes, it's a word, at least to me) is nothing serious. Thinking he probably just has a touch of the stomach bug that Miss K had over the weekend. Nothing to worry about.
Get things situated at home and once again venture out into the big scary world with a new and improved modified plan of attack.

Things re-start well, I get K at school, we roll on over to Trader Joe's (I love me some TJ's) get the things we need for our planned dinner with BigDan and Kath. I'm driving home, thinking
"this is going well, I'll get K down for a nap and I'll...what the fuck is a public works truck doing in my driveway and why in the hell is there water everywhere."

Turns out a routine "check" on the b-box for the water line going to the vacant lot next door lead to some type of main break (or some such shit since this Village is full of idiots I never got a straight answer).
The nice lady from public works stands in my driveway wearing her muddy boots, dirty hands, neon green t-shirt and double strand of pearls (yes, pearls...whatthehell??) and informs me that they have to turn of my water until they can figure of the problem.
Um, hell NO. I have a toddler and a disabled husband, turning off my water for no good reason just aint happening.

I quickly realize that naptime will have to wait and I load Miss K back in the car and drive like a crazy woman to the Village hall.

I won't give any details of what happened once inside. I will only say that there was crying (not mine or K's), appropriate use of curse words and that in the end my water was turned on a short time later.

*bangs head on wall*

The worst part of this entire thing is not the soupy front lawn, the delayed naptime or the modifications to my modified plans but rather the cancellation of dinner with BigDan and Kath.
Just didn't want to take the chance that I wouldn't have water. Totally bogus!

The highlight during this afternoon's mess was Kate's conversation with the receptionist lady at Village hall.
Kate - we have water problem
Fake Nice Lady - oh, I'm sorry sweetie
Kate - you need fix it
FNL - well, sweetie it's going to take some time.
Kate - I not sweetie I Katie.
*FNL gives me the your kid is a brat look*
Kate - You need fix it. My daddy has to poopies in the potty. We have to flush the poopies away. You go fix it.

FNL stammers something and walks away. I have to resist the urge to give my daughter a high-five. Instead I tell her that we shouldn't talk about poppies in public. Damn, I hate being the mature, responsible adult.

This concludes yet another sad but true tale from the WWW.

*I'm not kidding about the double strand of pearls*

A Day in the Life of KT

Before I share a funny story from today with Miss K, I want to take a moment and send our love out to SICU Nate and his fiance. We have such a soft spot in our hearts for Nate. The worst days, Nate had been there, supporting me and literally saving Scott's life. There is nobody else like Nate in our lives. We're sorry you guys are hurting. We're here for you. Whatever you may need, except muscle, we don't have much muscle. But anything else, say the word.

Now, I feel the need to share with you a story from Kate's day.

Kate has been a little obsessed with role playing as of late. She runs to me this afternoon, carrying her purse, pushing her 3 dollies in the stroller. This is the conversation that followed.
Kate - *breathless * Mommy I need your wawet {wallet}.
Me - *eyebrow raise* Pardon?
Kate - *eyebrow raise right back at me* Mom, I NEED you wawet. Give it to me eeze.
Me - *no longer raising an eyebrow, I don't like how it looks coming back at me* What do you need my wallet for Miss K?
Kate - *growing more impatient by the second * I haf to buy grocreees for the babies.
Me - *heading to retrieve my wallet* Ok what are you going to buy them?
Kate - ceweal, milk and lemon pie.
Me - *retrieving a junk punch card from my wallet* Ok, here you go.
Kate - *runs away to her kitchen. Tosses the card at the window* Here you go lady, here your money. Fank you. Have nice day.
Kate - *playing cashier* - You too.
Kate - *playing herself* - Mmm, ok, bye.

Here's the kicker, she leaves the card sitting by her kitchen.

Me - Kate, you're supposed to take your card with you so you can use it again.
Kate - *runs over to the card, snaps it up quickly* You no take my card! I need it for more laters.

She shoves the card in her purse and she's off and running.

Talk To Me

Quick update -
Miss K is doing better today. The dr. appointment went well and hopefully the worst is over.
Scott is doing well too. Nothing terribly exciting going on with him. Just the usual drain. Therapy again on Thursday!

Now lets get to the important info.

We're FAMOUS!
Play a little game of Where's Waldo and you'll find Scotty and I (along with PT Nate and OT Carole).
Missy D. sent this forever ago and it got eaten by my inbox. Missy, you da bomb! Thanks for sending it over. We miss you guys so much! We had planned on coming down to the JRB Advisors luncheon but with K being sick we didn't make it. Total bummer. We're down twice the first week in May. Hope to see you and Bongo then.

Can't just talk to Missy and no one else. I'm not one to play favorites.

Nancy - You're story made me feel so much better. Sorry I ruined soup for you. I tried to have soup of dinner tonight...yeah that was a fail. That's going to be awhile.

Jill- 3 kids with the flu - I nominate you for the patron saint award. Can't do it.
Hoping you're feeling better.

In other very exciting news I read this on my Facebook page yesterday.
An entry from BigDan
Cooking extravaganza! Crab cakes with roasted fingering potatoes and steamed broccoli. Italian Gravy which I then used in making lasagna. 15 Bean Sausage Soup (homemade sausage, by the way.) Chicken stock rendered for 12 hours. BBQ Beef Roast (Hale farm raised beef, of course.) Pot Roast of Beef (Hale farm raised beef we love you!) with mashed potatoes and gravy. The butter in the potatoes was homemade.
Kath made the beginnings of Chicken Crepes and I started the makings of Jambalaya. All this while enjoying Dieter's Big Amber Gnome Beer and lots of good music on the iPod. The fun will continue tomorrow and there will be a Meals on Wheels trip to the Witt's sometime this week!

So excited I literally squealed. BigDan I hope you don't mind that I borrowed your posts. I just can't contain my joy. I must scream it from the rooftop.

Now if you'll all excuse me I must fall asleep so I can dream of things like crab cakes, crepes and homemade butter.

Silent Sunday - almost

Miss K is doing a tiny bit better (she actually ate today). She's still "soupy", fevery and now her cough is coming back.
So we spent the day giving her almost anything she wanted within reason. Tonight it was pizza, ice cream, play time with G'ma and G'pa and

reading "Pinkalicious" with her daddy.

Poor Scott had to read the book 3 or 4 times, somehow I don't think he minded.

Tomorrow morning 11:30a yet another trip to the ped. Wish us luck.

Little Cute, Big Gross

Had another trying day with Miss K. Her temp stayed around 100 all day. But she hardly ate or drank anything. Didn't matter what I tried to give her she would say yes and then run away and not eat anything.
Her chief complaint today was her stomach.
Here's a cute but disgusting story for you.
She woke up this morning and told me

"there's soup in my pull-up".

Yep, that's not good and yes, it's exactly what you're thinking. She was gracious as to tell me the same thing after what should have been naptime. Really hoping she wakes up tomorrow and eats or at least drinks something. I'll give her until noon to make up some calories and then I'm taking her to the ER. Enough already.

Scott did successfully get his hair cut. His usual gal was out (we're thinking of you Susie) so he had a substitute. He's looking good with his short hair.

ummm... cutting this short KT is whimpering...feeling like it's going to be a long night...oh now full cry.... Come on baby girl get better already.

This That

So here's a little recap from the week.

Scott had his first day of day therapy evaluations yesterday. We like the facility. His OT therapist appears to be very intelligent and likable. She is however the single most fit person I've ever seen in my entire life. The girl doesn't have an ounce of fat on her. Yup, I hate her. *kidding, mostly*

Scott's stinky leg is slightly less foul. Talked to PA Jenn from Dr. Jacobs office and modified the dressing changes in that area so hopefully things will get better and not worse.

Scott's second day of therapy got canceled today so I could deal with a very sick child.

Kate's fever didn't get better last night, it got worse, much worse. She spent most of time from midnight last night until 3pm this afternoon with a fever that would spike at 104-105 and never get below 102.
Back to the pediatrician for her (second time in one week, yup I'm that mom). The doctor took a long time deciding if she could go home. He really wanted to admit her after seeing her urine screening. Ultimately he decided we would try it at home. He commented that an overly compassionate girl like Kate would be scarred from being admitted with all those very sick kids.
I think I might be the one that would be scarred for life.
Fever is down 101 tonight and she did eat a little bit this afternoon. Hoping she rests tonight. I'll be giving her Motrin every 5.5 hours to stay on top of the fever. Alarm clock is set and ready to go.

We got our new garage doors this week. I love them. Took some getting used to but they function so much better than the heavy wood doors we had before.
Our neighbors all rejoiced.

A special shout out and apology to my mom for calling her at 630am on Monday to stand in for a sick neighborhood babysitter while I took Scott to the infectious disease doctor. Thanks Mom! Sorry for the early call. I know how much it sucks to have the phone ring at that hour.

On top of planning our big party (see below) I'm also planning a little getaway to see a dear friend and take a break. I have a full time kid sitter, house sitter and husband helper lined up.
I do however still need to find a nurse to come help with Scott's leg dressings. I have a few resources but I thought I would mention something here for all of our Rush nurse, therapist and doctor friends. If anyone knows a medical professional that could come do dressing changes for a few days give me a shout out. I know our Rush friends can't travel this far for 3 days but maybe someone has a friend out this way. I always prefer to use someone we're connected to. Picking someone from a service can be such a pain.

Party plans are well underway. We've added face painting for the kiddos and I'm hearing more chatter on the balloon animals. Band is confirmed (there is still room to add other acts, just let me know). And in case you don't know what I'm talking about here you go...

Oh and remember the rules
only invite someone you would leave alone in your own home
bring some place comfy to park your butt
come ready to have a good time
For all the rules and regulations go here
http://werewitty.blogspot.com/2010/04/lets-do-this.html

Hoping tonight will be a quiet night. Tomorrow should bring a haircut for Scott and some peaceful family time. How is everyone else spending their weekend?

Sick Kids

There is absolutely nothing worse than sick kids. It doesn't matter if it's the common cold, cancer, genetic defect or something else. Sick kids are the most awful thing in the world. Every sick child I've ever seen have these same cloudy, pitifully sad eyes that simply melt my heart.
Sick kids try so hard to put on a brave face. They smile. They play. They snuggle. They try to laugh. All with these sad, sad eyes.

I cannot begin to imagine how the parents of critically ill children cope. I guess it's the same way the kids do, you put on a brave face.
As I tucked in my beautiful daughter tonight I thought about how 3 years ago I was 38weeks pregnant and just diagnosed with pulmonary embollis (PE's- blood clots that traveled from my legs into my lungs).
Up until that moment I had a text book pregnancy. I had gained 16 pounds, was still active, had maybe 3 days of morning sickness and my biggest complaint was some mild heartburn after eating entirely too much ice cream.

We had gone through so much to get pregnant I felt I was entitled to a smooth pregnancy. After all we had already been through three rounds of invitro. More injections, medications, and doctors visits that even I can imagine.
The first attempt failed before transplant and left me quite sick from a overdose of all the fertility drugs. The second attempt resulted in a miscarriage around 10 weeks. Finally, the third was a charm. Instantly, everything was perfect.
Perfect until the 38th week. Then it was back to injections, medications, doctors visits.
In the end at exactly 40 weeks on her due date Miss. K. was born. And she was perfect.
We went through all this medical intervention to make sure she didn't have VEDS, to make sure she was perfect and there she was, flawless. She was worth every penny, every injection, every medication.
I never wanted to experience a sick child, I still don't. I'll take it all. Every cold, every sniffle, every upset tummy. Just keep my child safe and healthy.

I know that this is every mothers wish.
Every time our child has a fever, a bad cut, a broken bone, we wish we could take it away.

So tonight I'm spending some time thinking about all the sick kids out there. I'm sending love and prayers. I'm hoping for strength and courage for their parents. I'm feeling grateful that while my child has a 103 fever I know it's just a virus. I wish I could just wrap all the sick kids in a giant blanket and fill them with love.

Cheech

Getting lots of great response to the party. Getting crazy excited!

Scotty had his appointment with the infectious disease doctor this morning. It started off horribly with me wanting to smack the receptionist bitch upside her head and ended well, with a new found love.

Before I get into all the details of the appointment I'm going to give you all a free etiquette lesson.
If you are a normal, able bodied person that is sitting behind a desk filing your nails and listening to the Today show at a decibel level that would make Mick Jagger cringe and you are asked by a person in a wheelchair where the bathroom is do NOT sigh, roll your eyes, and mumble something about the bathroom being behind the closed, heavy, wood door. Do NOT continue to sit on your ever widening ass and grunt when the wheelchair bound person and his spouse attempt to juggle the door, push the chair through and not do any damage to the wall. Do NOT just look away and pretend like you don't see that they clearly could use an extra set of hands.

For God's sake, get off your fat ass and hold the freaking door open. I'll forgive you for liking Matt Lauer if you could just be a little helpful.
Seriously people.

Now with that said, for as much as I hate receptionist bitch I LOVE the doctor. Dr. Mia knows her shit. Most importany Dr. Mia knew Scott's case remarkably well. She presented us with a couple of different options with all the supporting information to make a clear informed decision. How much do I love that?
For right now, because the amount of bacteria present is so low we're going to repeat the culture and see what type of results we get back. It's quite possible given Scott's compromised health that this type of low level bacteria is typical for him. She's hesitant, as are we, to just treat him with a killer IV antibiotic. Every time you're exposed to an antibiotic, especially high potency ones like what Scott may need, you run the risk of developing tolerance to that drug. With Scott's compromised situation and all the open wounds (some of which are stinky again tonight, sigh) he's at a very high risk for some nasty infections. Saving the good drugs for when we really need them makes a lot of sense.
So, repeat culture, see if drugs are really needed and proceed from there.

While at the primary care doctor on Monday we upped Scott's pain medications. I think I'm going to change Scott's name. From now on he shall be known only as Cheech or Mr. Marin if you wish to be proper. Dude, is more than a little snowed. While it's quite comical it's also quite sad and annoying.

Here's an account of an actual conversation last night.
Me: Scott will you please turn on K's monitor?
S: huh?
Me: K's monitor it's right there on your table, can you turn it on?
S: Uhhhh I don't know where it is.
Me: Right there by your right hand. Right there, stop, there.

S: Oh, when did you put it there?

One final note
My kid likes cherries.
K asks the waitress for some pink ice cream. Waitress says sorry we don't have pink ice cream. How about some ice cream with cherries on top? This makes K very, VERY happy.
But her reaction when she was presented with her sundae was priceless.

Lets Do This

Drum roll please.....

and blogger sucks because I can't make the poster large enough. Epic fail.

Well, you get the important parts. Here are the detaily type parts.
* invite your friends, family too. But only if you would leave them in your own home unattended. If your great aunt Gertrude steals the silver at Thanksgiving please leave her at home, I like my silver. Thank you very much.
* as stated on the too small poster the event will be held outside rain or shine.
* there will be a tent
* please bring some chairs, blankets, heck bring your Lazy Boy if it makes your skirt fly up. We just want you to kick back relax and make yourself at home.
* there will be family friendly live music. No dancing girls, at least until after curfew. If you're musically inclined and wish to share your talents with everyone give me a shout and we can clear some stage time for you.
* we'll have burgers, dogs and all the fixin's in sizable quantities. Drinks too.
* there will be open grills for everyone to use. Feel free to bring some other food to share, Or, if your feeling cranky that day, and you just want to make something and hide in a corner and stuff your face alone, you can do that too.
* yes, this is in part to celebrate Kate's birthday and Scott's birthday. There will be crowns involved (don't judge, Scott LOVES crowns) and birthday cake. But please, PLEASE no gifts. The only gift needed in this house is to be surrounded by all the love and support that has gotten us through the last few months.
* can't wait to see everyone.
* would love to hear if your planning on coming. Maybe we can have a contest to see who will travel the farthest.

Hmmm... me thinks that's it. Well, for now anyways.

Let the countdown begin!

Interrupted

I was supposed to have a big blog announcement today. Was planning on some seriously fun stuff. But my life as of late has become a life interrupted.

Ah yes, another Monday. Most you know by now that I tend to loathe Mondays. They really are the bane of my existence. Sigh, we just don't get along that Monday and I.
Today was a pretty typical Monday. Starts off with a small glimmer of hope, a little nugget to make me think "hey, this is it. This is the Monday that will change the future of all Mondays". And by the end of the day I'm shrugging my shoulders, rolling my eyes and shaking my fist at Monday.

Miss K is back on antibiotics for her bronchitis/pneumonia junk. Poor girl is covered (as is her mother) in snot. We're hoping this round of drugs will kick some ass and baby girl will finally get better.

Scott, well Scott, he's always interesting. While he was in the hospital last week they did routine screening and discovered what was thought to be a urinary tract infection (Scott, sorry I know I promised not to discuss potty issues on the blog but this is relevant). In typical fashion, they put Scott on antibiotics.
Scott comes home.
Friday afternoon I got a call from Dr. Ben. Much to my dismay he wasn't inviting himself over for dinner. He let me know that Scott has a strong, drug resistant bacterial UTI. He gave me some information in case Scott got symptomatic over the weekend.
Fast forward to today. PA Jen called and here's a synopsis of our conversation
Jen - "What are you guys doing about this bacteria?".
Me - "Nothing, he's not symptomatic at all."
Jen - "What? Not a pick. Has to be treated right now. Go to your doctor out there or come here but he has to be seen."
She threw in a couple other scary things (sepsis, leg infections, stent complications) and we got off the phone.

Spent the afternoon at Scott's primary care doctor (Dr. K). We go see an Infectious Disease (ID) doctor on Wednesday morning assuming Scott doesn't get too sick between now and then.
This bacteria and I are already enemies and I haven't yet begun to deal with it. This type of bacteria will only respond to large and long doses of IV antibiotics. This means either another hospital stay (which is least likely) or the placement of a PICC line so I can give him IV antibiotics at home.

Scotty is a champ. He just rolls with it. Get it rolls with it. Hee hee hee I crack me up. He is still in good spirits and we had a nice evening hanging out as a family. Trying so hard to make every moment count. Some stupid pain in the ass bacteria isn't going to slow us down. We've got parties to plan, places to go and things to do.

How I've Missed Thee

It's been a busy weekend.
LaVerne and Lynn were visiting again. I'm beginning to think they only come here for food.
Decided to go to Outback this time.

Scott ordering is painful typically, add in a recent hospital stay, lots of narcotics and it's worse than childbirth. And let me tell you I still, almost 3 years later, remember every second of my all natural childbirth. Scott ordering is worse.

He finally decided on a steak and lobster.

He very graciously shared with Justin.

Managed to do a little girls only shopping with Mom, Kara, and Lynn before dinner AND after dinner. Giddy, I tell ya I was giddy.

Another visit from L&L at our house this morning and they were back on the road headed home to Iowa.

Scott and K rested while I played with my new favorite toy

I am such a geek. I LOVE this thing. Took 20 minutes to clean all my hardwood floors. Left them spotless. Sigh...I could go on and on singing the praises of this beauty but I'm pretty sure most of you didn't come here for my impression of the late great Billy Mays doing an infomercial.

After playtime with my newest obsession some of the gang headed over for a very impromptu pizza party. Mark, Jay'me, Peyton, Maddie, Dan, Alli, Adam, Ryan, Josh and Brogan some Lou Malnati's pizza and chocolate, strawberry cupcakes. More good times!

As I'm listening to a very congested Miss K snore over the monitor I'm reminded that it may be a rough night round these parts so I should be sleeping while given the chance.

Don't worry kids, a True Story post is forth coming. It's almost complete.

The Dog Ate My Homework

Actually, it was Blogger but, whatever.
Apparently, the fun, witty, touching, Pulitzer Prize winning (shut up, it's my fantasy) post that I wrote with such love and convictions last night was eaten by the internet gods.
*pout*
So instead, as to not worry anyone else (waves Hi to the people that have already sent texts - we love you. thank you for worrying about us) I'm posting this post.
Just letting you all know that all is fine here. Had a nice day yesterday and were looking forward to a beautiful day today.

Hoping everyone finds a little sunshine today.

Home Again, Home Again...

Took over three hours to get home but at the end of the day we are all under one roof. Got to watch Backyardigans, drink milk and snuggle into bed.

We brought home a new friend.
This is Mr. Hand. Mr. Hand was a gift from SICU Nate and Dan.

Mr. Hand kept Scott safe and happy last night. And helped entertain Scott this morning while I was fighting the 2 hours of traffic to get downtown.
(If you're counting that's 5+ hours for me in the car, in gridlock traffic, in 80degree heat. Waaahhhh... Feel sorry for me please)

Mr. Hand has already settled into life at the Witt house. Miss K and him were instant friends.

Crossing my fingers for a peaceful night.

We Go Up, We Go Down, We Go Up Again

Phew, this roller coaster ride is making me a little queasy.

"Um excuse me Sir, can I get off now?"
"No Bitch, shut up and sit down"
"ok, thanks for your consideration"

Had a great post-op recap with Dr. Ben. They didn't take as much tendon as I was envisioning from my conversation with Dr. Jacobs. I have yet to see the damage, that will be tomorrows adventure, but I'm feeling better about the whole missing tendon thing.
All that matters at the end of the day is, Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Ben once again had Scott on the operating table and managed to walk the very fine line of doing the most good while making sure Scott didn't do anything crazy like die. This kids, is a VERY good thing and really all I ask for. The rest is just silly little details.

Oh and as an extra special bonus today I got lots of great tidbits for the True Stories from Rush - I couldn't make this stuff up, portion of this blog. Some real winners here kids, get ready.

For those of you that might have missed the other True Story posts here ya go...

http://werewitty.blogspot.com/2010/01/true-stories-from-rush-i-couldnt-make.html

and

http://werewitty.blogspot.com/2010/02/true-stories-from-rush-i-couldnt-make_03.html

Scott was resting comfortably when I left at 8. Lots of visitors, lots of laughs and so much love from all of our Rush family. Can't say enough how much we appreciate all of our family down there. It's unreal. We love ya Gang.

Tendons. Who Needs 'Em?

Scott tolerated surgery well, from what I'm told. I have yet to see him.
I spoke with Dr. Jacobs. From what I'm told things went well. They were able to remove all the dead tissue with minimal bleeding. They also had to take most of Scott's tendons. It sounds like the achilles tendon is gone almost completely and the two exposed tendons on the top of the foot are mostly gone.
We weren't expecting that. Didn't know that tendon removal would be done. I guess it makes sense but...
I'm expecting Scott to have a tough time with this when he wakes up. I'm not sure what this means for any future chances of Scott walking again.
Scott will be here (Rush) tonight. We'll get a good chance to talk to Dr. Jacobs and Dr. Ben. I'll learn how to care for the leg again and hopefully, if there are no complications over night Scott will go home tomorrow.

Another One

Hanging out in the Smith Lounge again.
Scott's been in back for about 15minutes.
We had a good time this morning. I spent a little time with K before heading down here (Rush). Got Scott into his chair and took a stroll around the 8th floor.
Had some laughs with Dr. Ben during pre-op. You know you spend too much time in the hospital when even the anesthesia nurses and doctors know you.
Missy from JRB (OT) came for a visit as did Kathy. So nice to see the friends.

I'll update as I get more info.

Settled In

Scott's getting comfy in his new room (851N). Many more familiar faces. Good to see and know that they understand how Scott can be. Not that anything is going to happen but it's good for my stress level (and I'm sure Scott's too) that staff remembers him. Less chance of anything getting missed.
Ok wait, I need to add a disclaimer to that - this place is great. If Scott was a traditional patient nothing would get missed but because Scott is anything but traditional medical professionals have a tendency to miss stuff.
Like the asshat doctor that sent Scott home with a diagnosis of heartburn when Scott really had a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm.
We don't worry about those types fo mistakes here. It's nice.

Scott's chest pain is still raging. They switched up pain meds on our way out of the ER but thus far it hasn't been helpful. Glad he's here so they can get that under control.

Unless there is something of interest to share tonight I won't be blogging again until tomorrow. Going to get Scott settled and head home to the most perfect little girl on the planet. She'll probably be tucked safely in bed under the careful watch of her grandparents.
She won't mind a gently kiss on her sleepy little head from her momma. And hey if she wakes up Grandma and Grandpa can just stay up with her all night. *insert evil laugh here*

The love, the love... so much love.

I Know Something

Well, part of something.
Scott will be spending the night tonight and tomorrow night (hopefully that's it). Dr. Jacobs is going to do a lower leg debridement tomorrow afternoon in the OR. The debridement is going to clear off the dead, yucky, smelly junk from Scott's leg. Hopefully this makes way for new healthy tissue to grow back. Dr. Ben decided just to keep him tonight so we can continue to monitor the chest pains.

We have no answers to the chest pains, they are thinking it's just muscle strain at the moment. The CT looked good. Dr. Ben went over it with a fine tooth comb comparing it to Scott's past scans. Everything looks pretty good.

Had a visit from BigDan and Kathy, phone consults with SICU Nate and Brett the student from SICU works in the ER as a tech. It's like big family reunion.

So we're headed up to 8N where there will be more family reunion I'm sure.

More later.

Hanging Out

Chilaxin' in the ER - yeah as if. Scott has had a ton of blood work done, a chest x-ray and is currently getting a CT. Vascular has been by. I could tell that Dr. Ben and Jen have missed us. Yeah, probably not.
Nothing new to report. So I'm blogging about nothing really. My gut instinct is telling me this isn't serious. But with Scott one can never be to sure.

The love, support and friendship are amazing. Scotty feels it. I feel it. Hoping you feel it too.

More when I know something.... well if that's the case I may never blog again.
Goodbye forever cruel blog, goodbye.

Just Another Day

Well I'm glad I started working out of my funk. I'm taking Scott to the ER at Rush right now. He's having some chest pain and with his history and known blood clots its better to be safe than sorry.
Just finished filling up with fuel and we're off.
Updates when I can.
Thanks to Alli and my mom for scrambling to help. We would be lost without all of you. Feeling the love already.

Confessions

I'm just going to come right out and say it...
I was a horrible wife and mother the past two weeks. If you've been using my writings to lull yourself to sleep at night, you've probably caught on to the fact that I've been having a pretty rough time lately.
I saw the signs coming; quick to judge, zero patience, zero tolerance, feeling disconnected, even from Kate. Fortunately, having been through this type of thing before I acted quickly and started working on it.
I'm not going to lie, this house is a pretty stressful place for me. I am primary on absolutely everything. Scott does what he can where he can but at the end of the day it's me, just me. It's taxing physically, mentally and emotionally.

I'm not crying, or begging for pity. I knew what I could be getting myself into when I married Scott. I knew it would be magnified when we decided to have Kate. And still I chose this life (and I would do it again in a heartbeat).
That doesn't mean that I was really prepared for everything. I had a glimpse, call it a trial run, with Scott's hospital stay in 2008 but this one, this is the real deal. Everything has been magnified. Everything is harder. Details are harder to perform and more important.
Honestly, it's the details that have been killing me. It's real easy to get bogged down when it grinds on you 24/7. The final straw was the insurance company deciding that they are going to twist policies to suit their needs and claim all of Scott's most recent medical bills (all $1.2 million of them) as a preexisting condition. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent on the phone, researching, faxing, and digging through old paperwork to fight this. If I tried to put a total to those hours I would probably vomit immediately. I was standing on the ledge and along came Mr. Blue Cross and the ass just gave me a huge push. Jerk.

All that said, for the past few days I've been working really hard at putting things back into perspective. The insurance fight still exists, life is still stressful but I'm working hard to remember that it's all just trivial shit. Junk that is cluttering life. I REFUSE to let this junk define my life.
Having my family together is worth everything that's been thrown at me and them some. Please don't tell that to the power that be.
I'm working hard to redefine boundaries, reconnect with Kate and Scott and most importantly find myself again.
I'm planning a small mental health vacation for myself. I realize that if I'm going to be able to stay sane through this mess, which isn't ending anytime soon God willing, I better take some me time.
Thankfully I have a very understanding and loving husband. He gets that every once in a while when life hits a new low I need to run away. He knows I'm not running from him or that beautiful little girl of ours. He knows that I'm running towards myself and not away from them. He allows me this moment to re-set, take stock and redefine who I am. I'm so very grateful.

The path in front of me is a bumpy one. I was reminded of that again tonight during dressing change when I noticed that tell tale vomit inducing odor coming from Scott's leg. But this is, the path that I've chosen and I am in charge of how much I let the bumps bother me.
So, I'm working hard to not let the bumps knock me out of the wagon, or to strain my eyes to the point of blindness trying to see the thousands of bumps ahead of me. I'm working on looking at the trees along the path, smelling the flowers as they bloom and basking in the sunlight on my face. As long as my wagon is full with the people that matter the most to me I'll be alright.

Finally, Go Cubs Go!

Wonderful Weekend

Scott aka "The Godfather" held court at the Stevens' home.

The ladies just LOVE the Godfather.

Everyone had to step up and pay their dues.

Great food, fantastic adult beverage

Great friends

and lots of laughs

Felt so good to let loose a bit.

KT happily spent the night at Grammy and Papa's. Headed over there early afternoon to pick up K, and have our first BBQ of the season. Delicious.
KT made her first marshmallow. She ate them last year but wasn't allowed to participate in making them. But this year, big girl was all over it.

Lots more to say but not enough energy to type.

Hoping for the sunshine to keep on rolling....

She's Back!

Sorry kids, it's me again. Stop crying, you big babies.

Thanks for humoring Scott with all the nice comments. He rolled around all day gloating and threatening to take over the blog. Then I reminded him that it took him 2 hours to write the little bit he wrote yesterday. Yeah, we was quiet after that.

So here I am.

The sun was shinning today. And almost like magic I was slightly less twitchy than I had been all week. Hmmm... seasonal depression much?~? Come on spring, I need ya. Added to the sunshine was the fact that for the first day this week I didn't spend 2+ hours on the phone with the insurance company. Decided I needed to take a mental health day before I lost my mind permenantly.

Jay'me and I had a wonderful time last night working until midnight on our "surprise" for tomorrow's sushi night. So much fun. She was the first non-medical person to see Scott's lower leg. She looked pretty disgusted. Hey, Jay'me want to provide a few words for us?

Kate had school today. We met Miss S., the 4th teacher in 6 months. Yes, that's right number 4! Yes, I realize I was just bitching last week about number 3. No, I'm not kidding.
Kate was no worse the wear though and reported having a great time with her friends. Kids are so resiliant, if only us adults were too.

Looking forward to seeing some great friends tomorrow. Thinking I should try to get some rest so I'm ready to tackle taking Scott out of the house.
I'm working on a few blog surprises for the next few weeks. Keep your eyes open for the changes.

Happy Weekend Kids!

Special Guest Star

I've got a mini-date (read:Jay'me is coming to our house for a covert operation to prepare for this weeks sushi event) so I'm taking the evening off from the blog.
Stop cheering Punks! Alright, I can still hear you. Come on now am I that bad? Wait, don't answer that.
So tonight, Scotty Too Hottie is making his blogging debut. Apparently he thinks he's better at this than I. We'll see about that....

Without further adieu.... Here's Scotty!

****************************

Is this thing on?

Hello everyone!

I just want to start off by saying that I definitely don't think I am better at this blogging thing than my wife...no way...just wait and see! How she does it I'll never know.

Quickly I'll move to my next topic...THANK YOU!!!!!!
Seriously, thank you, for all of your thoughts, prayers, wishes for wellness and just for letting me know that you are pulling for me. It's absolutely amazing how all of that helps. Every one of the comments you posted made it to me. I looked forward to Brandi reading to me the things that were posted each day. Don't worry, I do know how to read, it was much easier if she just read it to me. One tends to get a little "strung" up like a puppet when one's in the hospital, alias "The Spa". The Spa? I didn't see it so much.

And thank you for all the support that everyone showed and continues to show Brandi(and me). While lying there helpless it was comforting to know that she had so many people to lean on. People from around Chicago, people offering help that weren't in the same state, people that she had never met and people that I haven't seen in over twenty years! Amazing! That's what gets you through.

Are you still with me? Oh? Great!

Some BIG THANKS go out to those who have kept us eating some tasty food, both in the hospital and out. What kind of yummy treats you ask? How about some jambalaya with a whole lot of love in it...thanks BIG DAN! Some awesome potato leek soup from Tom and Ann...Wonderful! Chicken crepes that were the definition of comfort food from Kathy and the list goes on! Thank you to all!

I want to take a second to answer a question that was posted yesterday from Jill. Hey Jill! I would love to see those old Immanuel pictures! We're working on getting a Flicker account set up that anyone can download to. We'll keep you posted.

Ok, this blog post has kind of turned into an acceptance speech from an Oscar winner but that's ok. I just wanted to let everyone know how much everyones love and support means to me and Brandi. I love reading the comments so keep them coming.

'till next time.... if I'm allowed to have a next time.
See you all.

So, I'm thoroughly sick of talking about us. I need something new to talk about.

Hmmm.... Let's see there is...
politics.... nah, that gets ugly, real fast.

Religion...That would be a big fat HELL NO. I'm still getting emails from a certain anonymous that is hell bent on "saving" me. Oh gosh did I say hell twice while talking about her. How fucking rude of me.
Yeah, going to stay away from religion.

Movies... I'm watching Changeling right now. Saw it in the theater. Very disturbing movie. Very good but very disturbing.
I'm slightly obsessed with the hats that Angelina Jolie wears through out the movie. If only I looked good in hats. Who am I kidding, if only I had Brad Pitt as the father of my child. Hmmm... now that's something I can talk about for hours.
Sorry Scott, you know he's one of my free passes.

Food... Scott requested a fried egg sandwich for dinner. Dude can be so weird sometimes. I need to find a way to get him to eat more. Any ideas?
Oh and let me tell you in advance he's the only person I've ever met that simply won't snack. I leave chips and cookies next to him all day long and he won't touch them. I am the complete opposite, I would mow through whatever was left there in the first 15 minutes and ask for more.

What else??? Somebody tell me something, ask me something, tell me to stop my whining...something....

Suck It Up!

How did I know on Sunday night that this week was going to be one of "those" weeks? Sheesh... I hate being right all the time. It's really a burden. *oozes sarcasm*

I've spent the last two days on the phone with the insurance company. Let's just say they SUCK. Suck is a little bit of an understatement but I'm not going to write exactly what I want to say for fear that I would even make myself cringe with all the curse words. My fail safe FUCK isn't even enough.
*sigh - bang head on wall, repeat, repeat*

So now that that is out of the way. Let's see... Miss K. Poor K has bronchitis and probable pneumonia. Hoping she's improved by Thursday so we don't have to move forward with the next treatment(s).

Scott is doing alright. He's working on a pretty fantastic cold himself. Which of course is bothersome.
We have yet another new tendon on the top of the foot. For those that are counting that's three, yes 3, visible tendons just hanging out for the world to see. Super fun, I tell ya! If I had to guess we'll see number 4 by the weeks end. Would anyone like to place bets on that?

I promised you guys the Bunny stalker story so here it is.

It started off innocent enough. The bunny, in an attempt to lure my sweet unsuspecting daughter, offered a simple piece of chocolate. The bunny didn't know that chocolate is a serious weakness for Kate. He didn't know that Kate can smell a single Hershey's kiss on your breath from 100yards away. He had never heard her sniff the air and then say "Mama you eatin' chocolate? I have one too peese" while using her most I'm sweet and innocent face.
The bunny was just doing his job.

He didn't realize he was making a friend for life.
"Hi Bunny! Hi remember me? I Katie. Got more chocolate for me?"

Look at the focus on her face. She won't let the chocolate out of sight.
"Back off girly. I'm bigger than you. He's my chocolate givin' bunny"

Alright, I'll hug you if you give me more chocolate.

Ok, ok, I'll even smile just give me more of that chocolate.

I'm sure you can all imagine, the kid got more chocolate from that bunny than conceivable. This proud mommy is happy to report that she brought her riches back to the brunch table and gave a piece to her Auntie Blue (Auntie Blue's chocolate addiction is legendary) and me. I'll omit the part of the story where she took the piece of chocolate she had just given me back out of my hand, smiled sweetly and said "thank you mommy for sharing wif me."
You win some, you lose some.

Not Feeling It

Today has been rough. Scott is fine. KT is on antibiotics but will be fine. I'm just not feeling it right now.
I've got a book sitting next to me, well an eReader but whatever. I'm going to try to escape into the book and forget this fucktastic day. I leave you with this.

I call it "Princess Pity Party". Like mother, like daughter.

Hoppy Easter

So if you're sick of seeing photos from the WWW high tail it outta here now.

Had the camera going in full force with over 120 photos taken, with the camera problems from yesterday corrected.

We had a pretty awesome Easter.
Got Scott out for the 2nd time in 2 days. Yeah we kick ass!
Had brunch with the family in the am.
"Thanks for the help guys! The idea of taking Scott and K out together was making me twitchy. Couldn't have gotten through it without your help."
Got KT home for nap, and I played Easter bunny and hid eggs.
For dinner I made the Jay'me Stevens original crab cakes. Seriously best crab cakes EVER in the history of the world (as judged by me).
Yeah we are stuffed beyond belief.

Here are a few of my favorites from the day.

Before we left the house. KT got to wear her pearl necklace for the first time, she felt like such a big girl.

At brunch.

The whole gang.
I don't think there is a photo of my family all together since Scott and I's wedding in 2003.
My brother Matt, Mom, brother Justin, Sister-in-Law Kara (aka Auntie Blue), Dad and you know the other 3 faces.

KT had a blast playing with her uncles today.

KT hunting Easter eggs. She figured out that the big plastic eggs had Little People toys in them and about died from excitement.

Teaching Papa how to play Nintendo.

*Disclaimer, she never plays Nintendo DS but she saw 2 boys playing them today and was obsessed all night. Gonna have to hide that thing tomorrow*

And this photo has to be one of my favorites of all time. It's not very often that I'm in pictures with Kate. And the few photos I do have with her I don't like for some reason or another. But this one... makes my heart smile.

Sad that the holiday is over. Back to the real world tomorrow. Lots of stuff happening this week. Even more to make happen. Time to put on our game faces and kick some ass.

What did you do this Easter?

PS - The restaurant had a Easter bunny. For the 2nd year in a row KT was OBSESSED. The series of photos are so funny they deserve their own post.

A Day in Photos - Mostly

Who am I kidding I can't shut up. You all know it. I have issues.

Started the morning with some Easter egg dying. No we didn't kill the eggs... well, I guess when I cooked them I did. But it's not really a chicken.... ah, heck never mind.

We colored some dang eggs.

Kate really enjoyed it. In the end every dyed egg had stickers on it, lots and lots of stickers. She may have issues, it's genetic.

Everyone got their hands dirty. Grandma...

Grandpa, Scott

Uncle Justin and Auntie Blue (the tie dye egg master).

Kate was not a happy camper when it was over.

But we had to move on to other things.

Things like Scott's first dinner out.
Hello New China.

Hello society.

Scott was treated like a celebrity. Nancy H. about fell on herself.

Can't tell you how great it felt to have dinner with a few of our AMAZING friends out in world, eating the most delicious chinese food.

There are a few disappointments from today.
1- Apparently I had some camera issues today so 90% of my 115 pictures from today look like shit.
2- I didn't hire a maid, nanny, nurse and chauffeur so I could enjoy a few more GTD (GTD= the most wonderful adult beverage ever in the history of the world - as judged by me).
3- I didn't remember to get out my camera when Scott's Uncle Jim and Aunt Marlene stopped by around lunch time. They brought Kate the cutest Easter basket. (Thanks again Jim and Marlene, K loves her gifts). Sucky photos or not it would have been nice to have some photos.

Looking forward to Easter tomorrow. Wishing all of you a wonderful day, filled with family, love and maybe a few moments of rest.

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