Monday, April 14, 2008

Grapefruit juice can do THAT?

It's been a strange week for me. Tuesday, I had an appointment with a new therapist. When he asked why I wasn't seeing the last one anymore, I just said Dr. Linden's name. "Oooohhh," was his nodding response. BTW, I went home and Googled this new guy and his associates and nobody popped up on a police ledger, so that's good news. On Thursday, I went to see the new surgeon that my PCP recommended (PCP just seems wrong, like I'm doing drugs or something... but I digress). I was impressed with how quickly they got me back to his office, but the minute he walked through the door, I began missing my old surgeon. Dr. Panucialman is kind, gentle, good with people. Dr. Davis is a pompous butt head who thinks his $#%t don't stink. Wow. That wasn't very nice. Maybe I'll edit that out later. He probed the area far more than I feel was necessary, as I was holding back tears and trying not to climb off the examining table. Zachary was quite concerned. When he had abused me sufficiently, he snapped his gloves into the garbage and demanded that I get dressed. Before I had a chance to get my shirt all the way on, he knocked once and walked right in, leaving the door open behind him. I hope the folks in the hall enjoyed the show. Then he informs me, "Well I can't feel anything in there, so there isn't much I can do. I can see that there is swelling, but I could not locate a lump of any kind." Ummm, okay. I asked where we went from there. I asked him if he read the reports from the 3 other doctors I've seen and he said (I am NOT kidding here) "Well, I don't believe any of them, so it doesn't matter what their reports say." Say what? He did make a good argument that, had it been given in a less "I AM YOUR GOD" fashion, I wouldn't be so cranky about it. Supposedly, the armpit is one of the worst places to operate on and is very difficult to close back up. Even when people have Cancer type surgeries, closing the armpit takes the longest. Okay, that makes sense, and honestly, I don't want anybody going on a fishing expedition in my body, but did he have to be such a jerk about it? I did ask him what I am supposed to do now. He told me to came back when I can feel something in there. Okay, but until then, I am in quite a bit of pain here. Not Tylenol, Aleve, Advil pain. Heavy-duty fun-stuff pain here. So, he gives me another scrip for Percocet. Yeah! I've always wanted to be addicted to pain killers! So, I went home with little relief and a lot of pain. Then, to boot, WalMart's pharmacy was out, so I had to wait til Ty got home to go out again, cuz DANG he did a number on my armpit. Honestly, this is the first day it hasn't hurt since his "exam" and it's been 4 days!!!
As a side note, ALWAYS believe the drug warnings pertaining to grapefruit juice. Sunday, I was feeling rather good, except for the pain, of course. When Ty brought me some juice while I was getting ready for church, I took a dose of my Percocet with it. All was well, and we went to church. As we were sitting in the pew, waiting for church to start, I felt like my shoes were on too tight. I looked down and my ankles were really swollen. Weird, right? I just ignored it and went on flirting with the 2nd counselor's twin daughters across the aisle from us. (They are so cute, we call them Thing One and Thing Two! tee hee) When the testimony sharing part of Sacrament came up, I started feeling a little dizzy and very hot. Ty got up to bear his and the whole chapel swam. When he came back, I moaned and leaned forward to rest my head on the pew in front of us. Ty started rubbing my back and then grabbed my hand. He started applying pressure to it and my arms. It seems my blood pressure was a little screwy. Ty had to teach in Sunday School, so he told me to just sit in the lobby after Sacrament meeting and to not try to go to classes or walk down the halls. Then he dashed off. Tristan helped me to a couch in the lobby and then Amy saw me and immediately offered to take me home.
Moral of the story? Don't mix grapefruit juice with your narcotics. It's not a fun flight!!!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Things that make me happy

In no particular order...
Smiles on my kids' faces.
The sound of Zach and/or Samantha laughing uncontrollably.
The sweet smile Tristan gets when he is embarrassed or shy.
A clean house (especially if I didn't have to clean it!)
The sound and smell of rain.
The low rumble of thunder.
Good music.
Good friends.
A quiet evening with my husband.
A date with my husband.
Playing with my kids.
Finding a dollar bill in an old jacket pocket.
Unexpected phone calls from friends I haven't heard from in a while.
A card or letter in the mail for no reason at all.
Snuggling with my kids first thing in the morning, when we are still all warm from sleep.
Touching my husband's skin as we fall asleep at night (I really like that spot on his lower back
that would be a love handle, if he had love handles.)
Fresh made cookie dough.
The smell of freshly made bread.
A slice of that bread, still warm and dripping with butter.
Theater shows. (Most recently, "Phantom" at the Venetian.)
Good food.
Watching my kids' minds "click" when they are learning something new.
Warm clothes, right out of the dryer.
CHOCOLATE!
Coloring.
Making others feel good about themselves.
I'm sure there are many others, I just can't think anymore right now.