When It Rains, It Pours

Okey dokey, here's a whine fest -

True, my gall bladder surgery went well. Then I had that panic attack on the 12th (see post) that turned out to be for nothin' (darn not getting better discharge info!)

The pain in my back/left leg that I've had for some years now, on and off for days & weeks at a time (see post 12/4/04) was thought to be my sciatic nerve. The MRI place was too busy to see me, so I finally got in last month. On Tuesday I got the results ... it's not the sciatic at all - I've got Degenerative Disk Disease in two disks and another that is bulging. Oh, fun. I can get a cortisone shot if I want. hmmmmm

Kiddie B was complaining about being itchy yesterday. Benedryl helped. But today the schoool nurse called to say that Kiddie B had broken out in hives all over and maybe should see a doctor. Poor kid! She looked awful - red all over, eyes swollen to slits. Doctor's office said to treat the symptoms until they were gone, then stop the benedryl and see if the symptoms reappear. Ain't it fun waiting to see if your child gets sick?

This afternoon some smoke came out from under the hood of my 1993 Grand Caravan. We've put enough money into it and I don't want to spend another penny. We need to keep it another year before we can start thinking about shopping for a replacement. Well, it got towed and it looks like it's gonna be major bucks to fix it. Luckily, mom & dad (Tan Lucy Pez and Niks Brainy Smurf Pez) are away in VE & ME, so I can use their other car for a couple of weeks. But we just can't afford another car loan now ... we just replaced the SO's old car last summer (I'm very annoyed that he held on the old one so long...). So the plan will have to be my getting up at 5:30 am to drive him to work so that I can have a vehicle during the day and picking him up in the afternoons.

And Monday the SO's mom was found wandering from home. We've been afraid of this for some years now, but especially the last few months - she keeps saying she wants to go home. She'll give the correct address, but doesn't realize she IS at that address. Luckily a neighbor caught her before she got off the block and stayed with her until my bro-in-law could get home. Alzheimers is a tough thing to deal with, and painful.

So my SO is stressed out with his mom, our finances and the frustration of not being able to do much about any of it anymore. Things need to be done around the house - basic repairs, minor updates or improvements that have been put up for years, etc. Looks like they'll be put off for a few more years.

Oh, I'm stressed, too, but my blood pressure has been staying too high lately (heredity has caught up with me early) and I need to try and not let it get to me ... hard to do.

Finally, my Girl Scout troop has been working on prerequisites on their Silver Award project. Had asked the mom who proposed the idea (create a library for a Children's Home nearby) to be the liasion with them. Now I find out (a year and a half later) that they don't need a library. Each building/cottage/house already has a study/resource room. Oh, sure we "could do a book drive for them if we want" - but each girl has to have a leadership position plus a certain number of hours in the project. There's no way 11 girls can have "leadership" plus something like 40 hours in the same book drive. So it's back to the drawing board about what they can do for the project and they need to finish it by the end of the next school year.

~sigh~

Finally, good news. My surgeon says I'm cleared to eat what I want again and unrestricted in activity. So I had a small piece of chocolate cake tonight. UMMMm Oddly enough, the doctor found my gall bladder to be in pretty bad shape (I've forgotten how he put it, "chronic" something). I'm lucky to have had only one attack, apparently.

It was a beautiful day today. Hoping tomorrow will be, too ... good nite, all, and thanks for "listening."