How things can or cannot affect you

I've had asthma my whole life and never thought of it as some 'disease'. I knew it was a bother and that my parents had to take all kinds of precautions with me as a child. But, I never felt that I was at any 'risk' or in any 'danger'. I remember times that I ended up in a hospital and because it was a teaching hospital there would always be doctors coming around to do tests or to listen for the 'crackles' or wheezing.

It got to a point as a child that any time I saw a doctor approach I would lift my hospital pajama top up so they could listen to my lungs. It never bothered me that I remember. Mind you, I don't do that NOW when a doctor approaches me. Also as a kid, I had all kinds of scratch tests and breathing tests and x-rays and stuff. I used to have to go every week to get an allergy shot of some sort just to keep the hay fever under control and thus my asthma. Scratch tests were terrible as they were testing to see what you were allergic to. They made little pen marks on your arms(s) and beside each one made a tiny scratch with the point of a needle. Then a drop from each little vial of possible allergens was applied to its appropriate mark. If you had a reaction to something then the area they were testing would get swollen and then very itchy, but you can't scratch because it could interfere with the other places on the arm(s).

I remember when we would, as a family, go for a drive in the country. If we went down a dusty road, all the windows went up and the vents were turned off. If we drove past anyplace that was cutting straw or hay, same thing. It used to really bother my brothers and myself because it gets hot inside a car pretty quickly when you have two adults and four children in there.

Despite all this I grew up with a pretty healthy attitude about my 'disease'. It always surprised me when people made a fuss about the fact that I had ...... "ASTHMA".....

I remember having a bad night about four days after my brother had gone to hospital with his asthma. They admitted him and then one night my parents came home from visiting him to have the babysitter tell them how bad I was. Back to the hospital we go. So for about a week or so my Mum and Dad had their two oldest children in the hospital for the same thing and the other boys still at home. I don't know how they managed. I DO know that I thought it was an adventure in that I was 'away' with my brother and, even though we were in different areas of the hospital due to our age difference, he would come visit me or I would go track him down and we would play games or stuff.

I was always happy yo see my Mum and Dad when they came and they always brought a little surprise. One time it was a sleeve of tea biscuits, that I kept in my drawer ond doled as as I saw fit. Another time my Dad brought me this end of the roll newsprint. He worked at the Toronto Star then and sometimes the employees could bring home the end of the roll after a newspaper run. Can you imagine as a kid having a blank piece of seemingly endless blank newsprint to draw on? You could lay it on the floor in the hospital and draw what ever you wanted. Everyone just walked around you.

I guess I'm just thinking about how different things are now.

l find it interesting that I have to wear a Medic Alert bracelet that warns of my asthma. Oh, by the way, the only 'traumatic' thing that happened to me because of the asthma was when I was a teenager. I had to have a test done on my kidneys. The doctor told my Mum that the chance of me reacting to the dye they would have to use was like 1 in 100,000, but just to be safe we should have the test done at the hospital.

The doctor said to me you'll probably be fine and I remember saying 'with odds like that what do you want to bet that I'll react'? He just chuckled and I went home. We go to the hospital later that week and they hook me up. They say "we're injecting the dye now. How do you feel?"

I said "Fine," then almost immediately I remember saying "Oooohhh its getting dark in here." The next thing I knew I woke up in the recovery room, my Mum was absolutely frantic and I was covered in hives.

Apparently anaphylaxis is not good. I caused quite the stir in the hospital and had all kinds of doctors excited because they got to see a real, almost, fatal reaction. I guess when you're learning its nice to see what would happen. I just remember that my Mum was scared witless.

Me...

I took it in stride and remembered to tell the doctor " I told you I'd react."

Its odd how some kids grew up petrified of needles and to this day can't stand them. Whereas I see a needle coming and my veins are jumping saying here we are, come poke us.

Needles don't bother me. AT ALL. I have to get my blood tested every week to ten days now because of warfarin, but still it doesn't bother me.I think its because it was just treated as something that happens rather than this big scary thing and all this reassurance and talking about it. My folks just took me to the doctor and chatted about stuff and I read a book or played with the toys and dutifully walked in, got my shot, and waited till I was free to go. Then I went back to being a kid.

I guess my folks did a damn good job of getting me through childhood.

Tsk Tsk Tsk

It looks like one of us has been neglecting the blog lately.

Not mentioning any names......!

* * * * *

Well, I guess once the novelty of testing me every week had worn off, I got a little complacent with writing. That's just pure "I'll do it tomorrow -ishness". I keep thinking 'ehh, I'll write something tomorrow. I'm too (tired, lazy, sick, hurt, whatever) to have written that particular day. 

I think it actually comes down to sitting at the computer and not having a title. For me, having a title is sort of where I start. Once I have that, then usually the words start to come.

Now obviously I must have had something that makes me think of a title, but, to me, it always feels like I have the title first.

* * * * * 

So, the INR thing is only being checked every few weeks now..

They are trying for 4 weeks between, but then I have managed to screw that up. I have, at least three times, forgotten to take my medication. Turns out that's not a good thing. The warfarin level must stay at a steady level in order to do the job it was hired for.

Sooooooooo..... , last Friday, I come downstairs to take the days dosage of three different pills and see Thursday's pills still in the container.

(whoops) 

I am working that day and will not be home at the time I normally take them. Okay, I'll just put them in my pill container in the car and take them on break. At least that's what I think I may or may not have done.

Because when I get home I look for the pills, and can't find them. I would not have taken them at home before I left because it was too early. I start to think and do NOT remember taking them on break time. Then I better take the proper day's dosage, in this case Friday's.

But then I remember that maybe I did take them because, seeing as how I'd missed the day's before pills then being early shouldn't be a problem. But I also remember thinking that that will mess up the next day because the timing will be off again. So what happened to Thursday's meds?

* * * * *

Now that was Friday. Three days before, on Tuesday we were stirred from slumber at 4 in the morning by Emma, the uber watchdog, barking at something outside. As we awaken a little more we hear these noises and the Hubby looks out the window to see three fairly young kids knocking down the safety pylons in front of the house.

(Sewer work, should, should be finished by the end of June, which means August, maybe, so there is a big sidewalk sized moat in front of the house. The pylons are to let drivers know that there is a drop off.)

Hubby is calling the police to report the vandalism. I decide to go downstairs and see if I recognize any of the little dears.

I don't need to turn a light on because, 1) it will mess up what I can see outside, and 2) I've lived here for 24 years I know where everything is! ! ! ! ! 

EXCEPT THAT; I had forgotten about a piece of equipment in the hallway. Yup, you guessed it. I tripped over it. It was all in slow motion and I remember parts of the incident but the most vivid memory I have is of 'coming back ' to real time, realizing I have a death grip on this piece of equipment, a monitor. By the way, the first thought was the fact that I had not ruined the monitor.

I get up, look out the front door, no little creeps anywhere, so I go back inside. When I get back upstairs and lay down, I find that there is a huge swelling over the artificial hip. Within five minutes, that has increased 100% in size. There is no real pain at this point. I get another hour or two of sleep and then get up to go about my day. Once I get downstairs and start the day I lean against something and I feet a lot of pain.

When I get in the car to go to the medical centre I sit into the nice comfortable bucket seat in my car and the side touches my hip area.

 &^%$#&    OUCH     &^%$#& !  

Same thing getting out of the car. I see the nurse who calls in a doctor who then both check it out again. They are amazed that I didn't break anything, and tell me to keep an eye on it. And use ice. (I am startled at myself for not once thinking about ice.) If there is any pain in the joint or difficulty walking, or other changes, then see them again or go to emergency. I actually felt okay about the joint except the surface pain.

Hubby calls to see how I am and I ask him to bring home ice. He decides to come home early to keep an eye on me. He was quite sad looking when he came home. Turns out he's feeling GUILTY for leaving the monitor there. Its NOT his fault. 

I am the one that gets really annoyed with kids being stupid.

I am the one that  decided to go downstairs.

I am the one that wanted to catch the little bastards out wreaking havoc.

I am the one that didn't turn the light on !

I am also the one with this really cool looking bruise that is now covering almost my whole thigh, front to back, hip to knee. I have to sit with one side off the edge so as not to cause pain. This picture shows the line from the chair edge and the bruise end of day one:

 The light part is right over the artificial joint.

So,

what have you been doing lately?.

                                                                      

Okay, so I've missed a couple of weeks

So, when last we spoke, my INR was at 2.2. Last week it went to 2.5 and I guessed I was staying at the same medication. The pharmacist had the week off because of it being spring break for the schools. She had her children at home and they took a small vacation.

So I kept the meds the same and went for the test on Monday morning. Tuesday the results were 2.5. I figured that since its within the range I should keep the meds where they are again.

Which brings us to this week. Meds were the same and the INR this week is 2.0. So I am guessing that I will get another blood test on Monday and see how its going.

Maybe I've stabilized now. That would be nice. it helps that my dentist knows about this stuff. I broke a tooth right off last Friday. It didn't hurt because its been root canal-ed, but when it broke it left behind some pretty sharp edges. Both my tongue and cheek were getting ruined.

I had an appointment for tomorrow to get it done and something possessed me to call them today. Sure enough they had a cancellation and were able to get me in. He figured that seeing as the tooth was going to come out anyway, he might as well pull the tooth right then.

So a little freezing and he gets his official tooth puller outer tool. He has to push it in first and then they twist and tug one way, then the other.

It only had one root but at the very end the root spread out into two little roots. It still came out without a problem. Now I have a mouth full of gauze and instructions of what to do. After the swelling leaves we wait until it settles down and then look at the options.

* * * * *

Today was my first x-ray and pulmonary function test. I have to get that every six months because of the amiodarone that I am on for the heart rhythm.

Then I also have to get liver and thyroid function tests because of the same drug from my own doctor. Those are done once a year.

I don't like breathing tests. I used to do lots of them for the Clinic's testing of ways to diagnose asthma.
Funny, the tests aren't THAT hard but I really don't like going there and doing them any more. Its not that they are hard, its just that I've had enough of them. The odd thing is I don't mind having needles, or blood drawn etc. But I just don't like the breathing tests.

Blood results

This weeks INR is 2.2. The pharmacist wasn't there today so I had to ask. Sort of wondering why no one called me, but I guess as its in the 'normal' range that the results didn't raise any red flags.

That's good. So this week nothing changed ! ! ! ! !

Just keep doing what I'm doing and I am guessing I will get checked on Monday again.

Sort of anticlimactic isn't it.

Cardiologist and Blood results

I went to the doctor this morning. He is very pleased with how I'm doing. He says this medication could hold off and further degeneration in the signals for ten years. Operative word being 'could'. As it stands now I don't have to go back for a year unless I have a set back or I notice something going on. I do, however, have to get a chest x-ray and breathing tests every six months and thyroid and liver function tests once a year through the family doctor. If there are any changes with the chest x-ray or breathing tests the cardiologist is told right away.

I'm just waiting to hear what my INR is. I got the blood done yesterday so they should have the results. But, we'll see. Its just after 6:00 pm so I'll wait another half hour then take my warfarin.

I'm expecting it to stay in the same range as last week.

That's it for today. Oh, other than that lots of my older customers have commented on how much healthier I look.  They are amazing with how concerned they are. Gotta love 'em! ! ! ! !

Still pretty steady

Last Wednesday I got my results and I was at 2.1. At least now its going up but on a much shallower incline. Before, if you plotted it out, it looked like an EKG.

So this will be the second week of staying at the same dosage. I see the cardiologist on Wednesday and we'll see if the other drug gets reduced. I suspect he will.

* * * * *

We have some major sewer construction going on in the intersection near us. Man the most annoying thing is the traffic. Lanes have been reduced so there is only one and it is an either/or lane. You can go west or you can go east, but you wait your turn. Its a four minute wait going eastbound and three minutes the other way.

Its annoying, in that the place I get stuck at is only 10 houses away from home. You don't realize how long four minutes is until you're sitting there waiting. What I really get a kick out of though, is the fact that there are enough signs around warning of the delay and the signs were up a full two weeks before they even started this. So why do people get out of their cars and look to where they want to be and shake their heads? The signs where you stop says "4 minute wait". The other huge signs tell you to expect MAJOR DELAYS.


Oh, and don't  let anyone in off the side street. In fact, block the intersection so they can't even get through. Yeah, that's the ticket. You don't want them getting home any sooner than you're going to.

But, we still get bozos trying to get around the intersection by cutting the corner. They then come down our street, the wrong way, and haven't got the brains to figure it out. There's a one way sign right opposite where they come out the side street and turn the wrong way. I will admit its not as bad now with only one car or truck coming around at a time. But it sure is amazing to see these people come the wrong way down the road and suddenly all three lanes are filled with cars that have turned with the light!

We actually had that happen with a person one night. He was going north on a south bound street and suddenly all these cars were in front of him. He pulled over as far as he could and then turned off his headlights???????

I wonder if he thought it put him in invisible mode???

* * * * *

My little brother turns out to have heart issues as well. He needs a valve replaced. BUT he has the doctor who is head of cardiovascular surgery at a major hospital.My brother isn't quite ready to commit to the surgery yet. They have other things going on in their lives right now. SO he is looking at about July to see the surgeon again and then it should be about 6 months after that for the surgery, so about a year from now.

They (brother and SIL) are thinking of moving somewhere out past London. That's better than where they were first looking. They were  thinking of going to Elliott Lake. Do you know how far away that is. I mean you're darn near living with Santa ! ! ! !

Thankfully they want to stay near the bigger hospitals and that means southern Ontario. Fine by me.

Thanks Baby Brother ! ! ! ! ! ! !

No longer falling. Have pulled up. For now.

Got the INR results yesterday. They're 2.0 which means I am just barely in the range of between 2 and 3.

We're trying to get it to be about 2.5 because that gives us some space to play with.

I have actually been feeling a whole lot better and when I think back I must have had this going on a long time. I can't remember how long its been since I felt like I could do things. Everything was a chore. I had to make myself be 'up' for work and 'up' for dealing with customers and just 'up' for trying to get through the day.

Its been nice this past week or so, not feeling SO tired.

 * * * * *

Don't get me wrong as I sit here I could fall asleep, but that is more because I was awake from 2 until 4 trying to get rid of cats in our driveway. I WISH PEOPLE WOULD SPAY AND NUETER THE DAMN THINGS ! ! !

I love cats, I really do. I wish we could have one but we are both allergic to them; my hubby even more than myself.

Having said that, I DON'T like the fact that they have to sit under our window yowling and fighting and making 'Cry of The Banshee' sounds. All because someone is stupid enough to not get their cat fixed. Don't these people realize or EVEN think about the fact that while a female can only breed about twice a year, the males can go out and breed several times, a day to several females every single day of the year.

So while, based on an average litter of 4 kittens, and for arguments sake, the male only has an opportunity to reproduce once a week. (very conservative, because given the opportunity they can breed several females in a day. And we'll take out two weeks for him stopping to admire himself in the mirror. So we have the female having 8 kittens in a year and the male, producing conservatively 4 x 50 which is 200 kittens. Of those, half seem to end up living in the North End, specifically all around our house.


A few years ago we 'adopted' a cat that the neighbours got as a kitten but they decided once he got older that they didn't want him any more. So they just stopped letting him in the house and stopped feeding him. The poor cat hung around a LONG time. We couldn't touch him but he gratefully took the food I gave him everyday. I never left food out after he walked away and he always left his dish spotless. He was REALLY abandoned the night these people up and snuck away from a grow op in their attic.

In the end he was adopted by some lovely people who bought and renovated the house next door. They flipped the property and when they moved out they asked our permission (?) to take him to live with them. He never got better from his months spent in the cold. (we made him a box with blankets and a door etc, and checked on him every day). He only ever let me touch him once and the look on his face was worth it. He so wanted to be cuddled but didn't trust ANYone other than the two cat people next door. He lived for three more years in comfort and being loved before finally having to be put to sleep.

His was named Sad Kitty by his new owners. They actually asked my permission to take him to live with them and also called us to let us know what the vet said and did we have any objections to him being put down. I had so wanted to pet that cat just once. And when I saw him shortly before he was gone he did let me touch him, briefly. It was heaven.

THAT is why I don't want or like these other cats around here. I can't afford to get attached to another one and not be able to bring him in and look after him the way he deserves.

Sorry didn't mean to go on so long.

I just hate some 'cat' people.