Dr. Suess

"And will you succeed? Yes indeed! Yes indeed! Ninety Eight and Three Quarters guarenteed!"


Monday, June 27, 2005

Computer Ghost

Pearls and Dreams

My computer went haywire and started acting up. Taking so much time to do anything ...it was absolutly CRAZY.

A computer geek friend told me of a couple of free programs that could clear it up Friday night. He said they would each take about 20 minutes. I tried the first one ...took about 90 minutes to tell me that if I continued it would corrupt my computer (thank you AOL for being so proprietary!) and the second one took 2 hours to tell me that it would not work with AOL (again, thank you AOL!). So, then I figured ... well, I should do the AOL computer check (duh)
and it took 2 hours to tell me that it could not do it.
3 am I gave up and went to bed.

My plan was to go to the library today to turn all my email groups to no mail, post a post here to say I'd be MIA for a while. Me being me gets sick ... massive UTI, and I'm too sick to go to the library. So, I figure I'd take the 2 hours that it would take me to do it on line ... .and lo and behold ...my computer is working better than it has worked since we were given it in October. Go figure.

Tomorrow, my husband is taking my sons out fishing on an overnight fishing trip ... I will post about the ball game :)

Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Whinning

Pearls and Dreams

My back hurts. In the most common area to have back pain. I rarely have back pain in the most common area to have back pain, so this has caught me off guard a bit.

I'm not sure of the cause but I have two suspects.

On Friday morning, I fell, and fell hard. Benjamin left marbles on the living room floor. I slipped and fell on them and fell forward, hitting my left shin on the box of pictures Benjamin left out. (same leg I just had knee surgery on!) Then, I flung backwards hitting my upper back on the coffee table. I could have arched my lower back with either jerk ...
I am hoping the cause of my pain is that fall.

The other suspect is ... a new pair of shoes (I was wearing them during the fall). I haven't worn hight heels since I got sick because weak muscles and heels just doesn't ever seem like a wise idea. Big clunky heels that was very much in fashion when I was in high school was out of fashion when I got sick 15 years ago. The big clunky heels that have come back IN fashion have not made it to the Walmart prices that I can afford ...

BUT ..at a garage sale 2 weeks ago ... I found these (2.5 inch at toes and 3 inches at the heel in height)
Sandles

and I have worn them frequently.

While they are pretty much even in height ... I am still wondering if they are the cause ????

I love them. My ankles are still more stable than they are in even some of my flat shoes! I have to PURPOSEFULLY turn my ankle to ge them to turn! However ..that does make me wonder ...if I do accidently turn the ankle ... since I don't have my normal laxity ...will that cause an injury I can't deal with? shhhhh don't tell husband I have these doubts about these shoes. He hates them and thinks their ugly and is threatening to tell my docs I'm wearing them!

I love them!!!

Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Various Assundry things and a God with a sense of humor

Pearls and Dreams

I realize that I was raised in a tiny town in California, and a mountain community, at that. However, I still tend to be a bit snobbish about the town I currently live in. I tend to get a bit ..um ... shall we say ... maybe a bit ... stuck up ... when I think that Oklahoman's think they can have culture.

Why? I don't know ... I think simply because ... I am from California and what makes Okie's think they can have anything of culture? The fact that I have lived in Oklahoma for 23 of my 40 years ...seems to be beside the point when it comes to my inborn snobbishness.

I went to this riverside concert tonight. It was supposed to be in the Riverside Ampetheater. When we arrived, everyone was setting up their seats to the seats BEHIND the ampetheater ... with my typical California vs Okie snob attitude ... I snicker to my mother "um ..they can't see the stage through the stage seats!" We get up to where they are handing out the sponser sheets (minus programs because the printer forgot to print the programs for the night HARMPH!!!! cough humph!)
"We have to sit back here tonight because the Arkansas River is too high tonight"

Well ... ok ... I guess ... Okies.

After we set up and I'm sufficiently bored of sitting listening to the instrumentalistst tune up ... I decided to go look at the ampetheater ... well the stage lower level was under water, rows A- D were under water and the road leading to get the equipment from land to the stage was under water ... well ... ok ... Even in California that would have been an interesting feat to overcome.

So, I go back to my seat and I notice one other inexcuseable problem with Tulsans ..and this really is a problem that I will not offer any excuse for ... I saw three people who would not have marked Caucasian on a government or medical form. There were a few hundred people there. Tulsa is a community of a half a million people ..and not a half a million white people ... we really really need to mix a bit more!!! GEESH! GEESH GEESH!!!! You would never get that many people in California together and have just one race together.


Once the music started to play ..a bit of my snobbery disappeared ... Duke Ellington Tribute ..and played well .. it was hard to be snobbish when listening to very good jazz music!

During the intermission, the radio station sponsoring the event had a drawing. While I was entering the drawing .... I did something I NEVER do ... I signed it Peggi instead of Peggikaye ... on the off chance that I actually won something (HA) they wouldn't have to stumble over my name (you'd be surprised how many people can't say Peggikaye Eagler!!!!)

So, they start to do the drawing and I'm sitting there thinking "God, you know, if I won one of these drawings, after the week I had, it would just feel like a hug from you!" Then I immediately apologized to God telling Him that I am very aware that my relationship with him is more than a supersticious "if you let me win this, I'll know you love me!"

So, the drawing for the two HUGE Making Sense Candle's were drawn (men won)
The drawing for the theater tickets was won
The drawing for the movie tickets was drawn.
Then the drawing for the 10 tickets to the Driller's baseball game.
"Peggi Eagler! You've won 10 tickets to the Driller's baseball game this Saturday!"

My mom squealed Benjamin SCREAMED and I got up and went and got my free tickets thinking "WOW! God, thank you!!!"

As I sat back down in my seat... I thought ... "you know God, you have a really funny sense of humor! To make a point ... you say OK but to the ONE prize I could really have cared less about???????"


Everyone was thinking I was smiling cause I won the tickets ... I was smiling because I thought God was really really funny!!!

Sunday, June 19, 2005

Dad

Pearls and Dreams

Today is Father's Day. I should be paying tribute to my father in California, or the father of my children. But the father on my heart is the father that is missing in my life. My step father. It's been twenty six years and he is still a missing hole in my heart.

Today at church they mentioned things that children learn from their fathers. I wanted to say some of the things that I learned from my step dad ...

I learned to laugh even things are tough.
I learned that when things are hard, that is when the real growth takes place.
I learned that radishes can't grow if you pick up the seeds that daddy has put into the ground ;)
I learned that when you are riding on Dad's shoulders, the names that the girl at school called you that morning, doesn't matter any more.
I learned that just because I couldn't tie my shoes yesterday, does not mean that I cannot tie them today.
I learned that just because I am not liked by everybody, does not mean that somebody (him in particular) doesn't love me.
I learned that when my sister makes me mad, weeding the radishes will get the anger out better than hitting her back...and will get me in far less trouble!
I learned that the whole world could say I was not good enough, and he would say " You're the best!"
I learned that no matter what ..even when he died ... and his body was no longer here to hug me and I could no longer look in his eyes, I would always be ... Daddy's little girl. I love you Dad, I always will ...

My Dad's Shadow

by Peggikaye Eagler

My dad had a shadow,
It followed him all year long,
During the winter, it would go behind,
And throw snow at his back,
During the spring, it would follow him,
Out to the garden to pick up the seeds,
He 'accidently' dropped.
In summertime it would follow him to work,
And make more messes.
In the fall it would go behind,
Jumping in the piles of leaves he had raked.
The one spring he turned around
No shadow could be found,
Only I was standing there,
With a grin on my face and some seeds,
in my hand,
For you see ... the shadow that my dad had,
Was not a shadow at all,
IT WAS ME!



© Peggikaye Eagler

Friday, June 17, 2005

PAST 300!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pearls and Dreams


Habitat Update

303.75 hours
out of
450
needed to build.
147.25 to go

Grades from the boys have accounted for 24 hours
Don has given 15 hours.
The rest ... has been my working. All of them.

The plan was since I was gimped up this month, that Don would actually get in and start working this month ..but he wasn't doing it ..and when they let me know they needed help ... and since I recovered so quickly ... I just went ahead and took it. It may mean that Don won't pick up and help and it will be all me. A one man show the whole way ... oh well. :) It will definitely mean something more to me!

Starting in 2 weeks, I will be working every thursday morning from 9 to 1 pm at the restore as a cashier. So I will be getting our 15 hours minimum in every month ... anything extra we do will be added hours! YES!!!!! Little by little ... we'll get there ..........

Wednesday, June 15, 2005

oh yea ...

Pearls and Dreams

I don't know how most orthopedic post surgery follow ups are done ..because of my complicated medical history ..mine are usually a 1 or 2 week follow up, then a 6 week and a 3 month.
Plus Physical therapy.

I get to do home physical therapy because I already know how to do all the exercises and my knee is doing so well.

I only have to do the 6 week and 3 month follow ups if something comes up because ... I'm doing as well as where he'd expected to see me at the 6 week out mark. I'm done.

:)

So nice when something goes right.

Too relieved to strangle someone

Pearls and Dreams

I still haven't gotten around to the posting about the complications I had in the hospital after my knee surgery two weeks ago. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks. I had pretty much decided that I was just going to let them go and ignore them ... then had my follow up with my ortho doc today. Now that I have A/C in my living room working again and can actually spend some quality time in here ... I think tomorrow ... will come the post of my worst stay in 23 stays in the hospital.

I went to my surgical follow up. Found out that the reason that the ortho put me on a months worth of antibiotics was so that I could go back on prednisone immediately following surgery. He showed me where he'd put on the discharge that I was to NOT be given standard prednisone follow up ..but to be allowed to take it THAT day!!! (IN THE HOSPITAL!!!!!) And antibiotics to deal with posible slow healing or infection due to prednisones immunosuppression!!!!

So ...my 2 weeks of lupus flaring is for naught ...
GROWL. Thank goodness my MG right now isn't dependent on the prednisone (then again, if my MG was dependent on it, it wouldn't be 5 mg and I'd not have been off of it for surgery ...that's another story all together)

Anyway ..that aside ...

I got the pictures from inside my knee ... the part of my knee that the MRI said was fine and he didn't understand why it was hurting, that it 'might' be lupus, but there was no indication of even lupus type inflammation there ... had a huge ganglion cyst there! (I would have thought the MRI would show it! But , it didn't)
He found a big tear he didn't expect to find, and a little tear he did, that looked significantly bigger on MRI. (My knee never looks on the inside like he expects to see it (grin).

So ... all is well now. I've already taken my prednisone
:)

He's going to find out who told me that I couldn't take the prednisone ..not that it matters now ... but ..nothing else was handled right ..so what's one more????

oh well ... in 3 days, I will be a new person. None of this will matter any more.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

Twitch's Tail

Pearls and Dreams

Twitch

Twitch

Twitch and his mamma Donut. Twitch is not quite 6 months old. He was 5 months old when this picture was taken. Twitch is, of coarse, the one with the tail.
Like mother like son

reason for letter

Pearls and Dreams

oh, speaking of ADD ... the reason for my letter to Mother Nature ... last night I was up for the 4th night in a row past 1 AM waiting to see if we had to take shelter.

I can't wait to get into my house where we can take shelter in my own HOUSE.

Dear Mother Nature

Pearls and Dreams

Dear Mother Nature,

I know that you like to play with the brains of us mere humans. I am aware that it gives you pleasure to confuse us and to sometimes please us and sometimes upset us. I am aware that you don't always do what is expected of you. But ... I am beginning to wonder if you are really as clever as what you have been given credit for.

Maybe you don't like to play with us. Maybe you're just really ADHD and disorganized! Maybe you're just distracted and forgot to read the calendar and don't know what the heck you're doing!

My whole life I have been taught that Mother Nature is fickle and likes to tease the human race. There was once even margerine commercial about the perils of trying to fool Mother Nature and her wrath that could ensue.

The last few weeks, watching my ADHD mother and sons ... I'm beginning to think ..you're not so fickle ..you're not so vindictive ..you're just scatterbrained!!!!

Oklahoma's severe weather season is from March 1 to May 31. Yet, this year, we got not one single severe storm warning during those dates. Nada ..zip .. zilch ...zero.

Since June 1 ...we've had several. Almost nightly we've had tornado warnings. Storm damage in Northeastern Oklahoma has definitely been worse in years past, but for June, it's quite severe. Power outages and tree damages is getting quite severe. I am getting fed up with having to stay up well past my bedtime to see if we're going to have to flee our mobile home to take shelter in more solid surroundings from your fury.

Last weekend, just 2 days following my knee surgery at 11:30 pm, you decided to do this to our porch
same damage

Damage from storm


Storm Damage to porch

And this to the mobile home itself!

storm damage to mobile home

Normally, storms do not bother me. Our boys get a kick out of fleeing the house at midnight to take shelter at the nearest resteraunt to watch the storm (that may sound funny ..but if you've ever seen footage of a flattented resteraunt ..the walk in refridgerator is still standing! We know the people at the resteraunt, we take our coats, a deck of cards, and we order fries and hot chocolate and watch the storm. Only once have we actually taken shelter in the walk in, that was the May 3rd tornado's that ripped up Oklahoma several years ago).
Usually, you give us a break ... I swear ...we've had as many storms since June 1st as we normally have during the whole season. Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit ..but JUST A BIT!!!! COME ON MOTHER NATURE ... it's not our fault you forgot to send us tornado's and thunderstorms in March through May ..enough is enough. We've had warnings every night for the last several nights now. Tornado season is over. You had your chance.

For the last couple of years, I've noticed the weather can't make up it's mind in the summer what it wants to do, in the fall what it wants to do ..in the winter ..etc ... and the weather is just all confused ... it really does make it quite difficult on those of us who have bodies that are effected by the weather.

Mother Nature, have you considered talking to your doctor about taking Ritalin?

Sunday, June 12, 2005

Prednisone

Pearls and Dreams

Once upon a lifetime ago, I thought prednisone was the most evil drug on planet earth. Then I got the 5 mgs a day for the lupus pain. I realized it did have a positive effect. Then they took it away.


Now I can't have it back until the surgical sites are totally healed over ... one of the sites is still a scab and has one of the internal stitches sticking up .. grrr ... so I'm still off prednisone.

My wedding ring is a size too big for me. I have two sizes shoes. My size 8 1/2 regular shoes and my size 9 wide width shoes. My size 9's are for when the lupus is flaring ... well, my size 9's are tight.

I want my prednisone! I WANT MY PREDNISONE I WANT MY PREDNISONE ...
ok, going now for a nap. I do have something positive to say today. BUT I needed to get that gripe off my chest first.


Thursday, June 09, 2005

I want to be Benjamin when I grow up

Pearls and Dreams

It was terrifying at first. When Don got the letter, it was Thursday while I was in the hospital. The two times I'd looked at it, I was under the lortab influence. I didn't question it when Don said we didn't have to bring Benjamin. Don said they had to talk to us ... the bottom of the letter said that if we needed more information about the incident, to talk to our child ..so ... I didn't question further. (I should know better by now than to believe Don on details).

We got there, and the assistant district attorney said that we had to have Benjamin with us because he had to read him his rights before he could question him, or before he could give us any details.

That sent me into panic mode ...absolute panic. Don got angry ... I was panicking. We both got very upset and the man would give us no details in the complaint without Benjamin present.
We rescheduled for 2 pm.


We came home and to take up time, I to Bj to get his hair cut.
Bj of coarse, was once again absolutely terrified ..only this time, with knowing they were going to read him his rights, we knew it was more serious than what we'd anticipated and we had no idea how to put his mind at ease. Other than to be honest with him and say that God has everything under control even when we don't feel like he does.


Don called the ADA's supervisor, who read the police report to Don. The police report said that they went to the child's apartment where the child had slight swelling under the right eye. The child said that they bumped into each other in PE and that he told Bj to watch where he was going and Bj started to cuss and yell at him and pushed him and then punched him in the face.
He told the police that there had been no previous exchanges between them and didn't even know Bj before this incident.
The mother also told them that Benjamin had been suspended from school for 2 weeks. (4 days of this school year, the other 6 the start of next school year) (However, they've been in the same PE class all year, as well as having gone to the same elementary school for 4th and 5th grade and having had the same home room teacher for both grades ... in a class of 20 kids in each class. 24 kids in the PE class. )

So, we go back at 2 PM. Because of the way the laws are written, and the supervisor gave us the report, the ADA said something about it didn't matter any more about reading his rights because we had the details and unless they were going to take him into custody, they wouldn't be reading him his rights, so anything we said about the incident would be 'off the record but taken into account' (in other words, could not be used against him).(I still don't understand the logistics of all this, but it all worked out without my son having been read his rights ..so I'm fine with how it worked out)

So, we gave him our side. That the child came across from the other side of the gym and started to yell at Benjamin, cussing at him, calling him a fat (ahem) and other explitives and then pushed Benjamin. At which point Benjamin punched him in the face. Afterwards, Benjamin IMMEDIATELY apologized before the teacher could get to them!
The ADA asked who told us that version, I said Benjamin and the vice principal. She said that the gym teacher heard the other kid cussing at Benjamin and said that it was equal yelling going back and forth between them.

He said "what about the suspension, who suspended him, and for how long?"
At which point ... I grinned and was able to say legally "He was NOT suspended. We pulled him out of school for the remaining four days because the year had been so rough for him"
We had the discipline referral that says "student pulled from school for remainder of the year at parental request" The suspension box was not checked, the detention box was not checked ... NO discipline box was marked.

Boy was I glad we'd chosen that route! We'd had the choice of allowing him a chance to get higher grades and do his work at home and call it a suspension. Whew!

So ... We were in his office for about an hour as he talked to Benjamin for an hour about who he is as a person. What his interests are, what he likes to do. What chores he has, why does he have to do chores? What is his curfew? Why does he have to follow a curfew? Benjamin answered all the questions and answered them better than we thought he could have ..with more understanding than we thought he had ... with more understanding of them than DON has of them! (which, actually seemed to make a point with Don)

(Don thinks I make them do chores because I don't want to do them. I make them do chores to give them a sense of responsibility, work together as a family unit and know how to do those things when they are out on their own.)

Bj's answers: "Well, my mom wants me to know how to take care of myself when I'm a grown up, and how to work as a team member when I get a job somewhere, so doing the dishes with my brother teaches me to work together with someone to get something done and not be a lone ranger."

So, he said that he has to send out a letter to the other family, and if they want monetary damages they have to prove there is monetary damages incurred (medical bills not paid by insurance). If so, he'll call us. Then we go to court where everything will be told to a judge. At which point, the judge will hear that it is a fight of mutual responsibility and be thrown out. If he doesn't hear back from the family in 30 days, then the case will be closed with no action. The judge will also see that Benjamin has not shrunk back from his own part in the fight at all and has seen the responsibility that he himself has carried. There will be no consequences for Benjamin because consequences are handed out to try to get a kid to learn that what he's done was wrong, and Bj already knows that. He asked Bj what the worst thing about this whole thing was for him and Bj looked at him very with a very somber expression and said "My testimony for God has been tarnished"

He was so impressed with Benjamin. He said he doesn't get to meet kids like Benjamin so this was a pleasure for him and he was sorry we had to go through it. Benjamin shook his hand (Bj initiated the handshake) and said that it wasn't a wasted time because he can share it with his friends who are being bullied and maybe they won't react like he did and it if it keeps one of them from reacting like he did and prevent this ..then it's worth it. The ADA just sat back down and stared at Bj and said for about the 5th or 6th time "you've got good teaching and it's deep in your heart!"


It was absolutely terrifying experience for us all. Hopefully it's over for GOOD.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

Knee Update

Pearls and Dreams

I'm walking normally. No assistance.
I told the doctor's office that on Monday. The nurse asked how many pain killers I was taking in order to accomplish such a thing. I told her 2 at night and 2 that morning. She said "oh, well, then that's ok."

Then I told her that I was taking the 4 a day that I am taking as a way to cope with being off the prednisone because of the surgery so I was really still taking the lortab to deal with lupus pain, not surgery pain. She said "oh, then that's REALLY ok!"

I get to start taking prednisone as soon as the surgical sites are completely healed. When that will be? Not sure, thanks to cellcept, I still am going to heal more slowly. I also have one internal stitch sticking out of the left hole. Don't think that was supposed to happen.

The muscles that were angry when they taped up the knee are really really unhappy . They don't like the kneecap being where it is. The knee itself is great! My right side is not any too happy, nor is my left hip. But the knee itself is great!
But, when you have surgery on Thursday and by Monday you can put full weight on the knee, you can't complain too much!

I have rested quite a bit Monday, yesterday & Today. Knee is doing fine, lupus & MG aren't faring so well. They still know the body got put through the wringer. So ... I'll still be taking it easy till the immune system decides it can calm down.

The Internet ...the great Equalizer

Pearls and Dreams

I finished my leadership class last Wednesday night and started a new class tonight. This one is about Peter getting out of the boat during the storm and walking on the water with Jesus. Basically, it's not about how he sank after a step or two (what most people focus on when they preach on it) but ..on how he actually managed to step out of the boat ...who CARES if he sunk after a step or two! HE got out of the boat!

So, the questioned was asked ... 'what is keeping you in the boat?' Why are you a 'boat potato?'
They give the choices of spouses, bosses, low expectations, lack of education ... all kinds of things.

I could blame my husband ... he doesn't like me doing much of anything that he's not the center of. I could blame my health ..that'd be an EASY one ... I could blame being the mother of two teenaged boys ..that'd be easy. Throw in their Tourette's and OCD and hey! Who could blame me for not wanting to step out of the boat?!

But the reality is ... it's the poverty. It's the social standing. It's the class. I come to the internet and I join support groups and message boards and blogging world. I make friends all over the world who accept me for who and what I am. And with them, I am more real than I ever would dream of being in person. I open my heart, and my fears and my insecurities and I also am more likely to show my strengths, my intelligence and my abilities. I am not afraid to tell someone what I think or to offer advice. I am simply ... ME.

I have mentioned that I am on social security disability and that we don't have much money ...but ..the degree of that lack of money isn't real on the internet. My lack of education ..doesn't matter.

On the internet ..what matters is "do I make sense?" Are people touched by what I have to say? Do they laugh when I say something funny? Do they cry when I say something sad? Do I touch a nerve when I mean to? On the internet ..all things are equal. There is no social class. We all have internet access one way or another ... so if you make a million dollars a year, or if you make 10,000 a year .. it doesn't matter ..what matters is the heart behind it. Because of that, I can be real. I can step out of the boat on the internet. I can stick my neck out and say what I need to say, do what i need to do ... and I am accepted, and loved.

But in person? What is keeping me back? In person ... those judgments are made ... and they are made with quick and irreversible strict judgments. Walmart clothes and worn out shoes, a medicaid insurance card ... and you're labeled... and respect is lost and taken in one great big fell swoop. You could be as poetic and intelligent as Robert Frost and it would not matter ... because ...your income has you below the poverty line. You have no social class ... you have no standing ... you have no clout.

My church is unique. They look past the $$ and I am accepted on the level as everyone else. They don't see a lack of money when they see me. Intellectually, I know this. In my heart, I know this. But, there is a part of me that still wonders ... if I step any further out of the boat, if I truely step out onto that water ... will I get smacked down by the wave of poverty and reminded that those who live in poverty don't belong in positions of leadership. Will my words ever make it out of the internet and into the lives of people who's faces I can see?
A Voice in My Heart
by Peggikaye Eagler


Lord, did I hear you?
Did I really hear you call my name?
Was that your Voice I heard?
My answer will not leave me the same!

Lord! Are you sure?
This is me you're talking about,
What words do I have?
I have no proof of any clout!

Lord, did I hear you right?
A voice to share your power?
But will they listen?
I live at the bottom of the tower!

Lord, OK, I hear you!
Give me courage to follow your call.
You promised to equip,
So, only in prayer and worship,
on my face will I fall!


© Peggikaye Eagler

Sunday, June 05, 2005

Will I ever learn?????

Pearls and Dreams

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a baby shower. My justification was that it was 89º outside and we live in a mobile home, and we don't have our A/C working ... and it'd be cooler at the baby shower. (true) Truth be told, it was the children's pastor's baby shower ...after praying for her for 5 years to become pregnant ... and many many years of tears and frustration for her as we, as a church watched their battle with infertility. I wasn't going to miss it if I possibly could help it!!!

Last night, we had to leave the mobile home because of the storm, we had to be gone for 2 hours.

I woke up today and it didn't seem to hurt as much. The walker hurt my hands and shoulders more than it hurt to use the knee. So, I've been walking on it all day. Since it hurts my right leg so much to favor my left leg, I've barely limped.


Today, I found out that someone from our church was coming to bring us a meal. I decided my house wasn't clean enough, my kids were no where to be found ... I picked up.

My knee and my left calf and foot are pretty swollen. You can't see the wrinkles in my ankles and toes ... you can't see the ligements/tendons in the top of my foot. You can barely see my ankle bone. You can still see my knee cap, barely. The pain is unreal!

OOPS I guess tomorrow I'm back to bedrest & walker usage. I don't remember when my last pain killer was .... guess it's time ....

when will I learn?????????????

What are they thinking????

Pearls and Dreams

Thursday evening, while in the hospital, my mom comes up to see me, bringing my 13 year old son with me. My husband and my 15 year old come in right behind them.

My husband, tells us that we got a letter in the mail that day and it was not good news. The Thursday before school was out, my 13 year old was in a scuffle at school.
The letter was from the district attorney. The parents of the other child are filing charges against Benjamin ... criminal assault and battery!!!!!

We have to meet with them on Thursday. Chances are it will be dismissed when they hear the story.

Hey dads ... future dads ... if you ever come up against news like this ... DO NOT SAY THIS KIND OF STUFF IN FRONT OF YOUR CHILDREN!!!!!!! IT WILL SCARE THE FIRE OUT OF THEM!!!!!

GEESH! I can't believe my husband didn't have the kids step out of the room. My son immediately started to cry and almost started to scream "Am i going to jail?"

The poor kid. He doesn't deserve this. I'm so mad at the other parents, I'm furious with my husband for not being sensitive enough for not dealing with this with me first then US figuring out together how to deal with it with Benjamin ... geesh.

We kept telling him that our pastor said there is no way that this is going anywhere ... that it will just get investigated and then closed. But he had to know what if (gee, you have a kid with OCD ...what do you think is going to happen????)

So I finally yesterday after praying for 2 days on how to calm him ... came up with "look ... the worst thing they're going to do is make you go to anger management classes" he was fine with that. His immediate reaction was "Oh, ok! That will help me to better deal with Samuel!!" Now he wants to go to anger management classes! (grin) He's such a good kid!

Home

Pearls and Dreams

Well, I was going to post about how I was doing, but, by the time I got caught up on the blogs I read and my emails ... my pain medicines have kicked in and I'm getting groggy.

I will post in a bit. I got home on Friday. I'm getting around ok. I think the rest of my body hurts more than my knee trying to favor the knee. I think the recovery is going to go quickly now that I'm out of the hospital. I will post later today or tomorrow about how that went. It was, by far, the worst stay in the hospital I had ever had. Not just one problem, not just two, but constant and at times scary. How I stayed off a respirator and out of ICU ... I'm sure is only because of the prayers of those who were praying for me!
Details to come.

Oh, and for those who saw the news and saw the storms that hit northeastern Oklahoma. Yes, we had to leave our mobile home last night at 11:30 at night. We lost part of the porch roof. Not much though. I'll get a picture of it, but since I don't have a digital, it will be a month or so before I get it posted. We lost electricity for a while and it was raining so hard we couldn't leave the windows open ... a mobile home is just toooooooo hot to stay in with windows up and no electricity for fans/ac or any such thing. So, last night when I should have been sleeping, I was taking cover in a resteraunt watching the thunderstorm. Which, was kind of fun watching.

Friday, June 03, 2005

Report from PK's Son!

I got an email yesterday saying that PK is doing well and that there were three areas of her knee that needed to be repaired!

Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Best laid plans

Pearls and Dreams

Wouldn't you know it ... I tried to fix my blog entry so that the entry would be up where it belonged. So, I edited it so the pics would be smaller ... only, the code wasn't right ..so the pics didn't show up. I have 3 hours before I have to be at church for a 3 hour class. The last of a 12 week leadership class. Then I have to come home and go to bed ... to get up and be at the hospital at 6:30 for my knee surgery so they can put the knee cap where it belongs and repair the cartilege behind the knee cap.

Personally, I think 6:30 is too early ...I'm not even sure God is awake at 6:30! But, oh well. I will be spending at least one night there ..we'll see how Mr. MG & Ms. Lupus do with regards to the surgery. Dr. S (PCP) did labs today to make sure I wasn't in adrenal something or other with coming off the prednisone ... I came off it slowly and was only on 5 mgs, so I'm not worried.

I will have to fix the picture post when I get back ... in the meantime ... click on my flicker pictures to go to my flicker homepage and see all the pictures of my home town and the different area's of Mariposa ... Midpines, El Portal as well as the historic downtown that I was trying to post & the Yosemite pictures. You can leave comments here on the blog or on my flicker site.

There are stories that I could go on and on ..but some fun stories ... Triangle road ... girl scouts ..5th grade camp out ... rained, we had to camp in the triangle road church ... and our girlscout leader caught it on fire, you can't see the church in the picture, just the triangle shape of the road.

El Portal, we had a 5 mile race there every year. My sister ran it every year from 4th grade till her sophomore in high school. I ran it my 5th and 6th grade year. I'll never forget being handed my shirt that said "I ran in El Portal" and what that meant ... I'd completed a 5 mile run in the mountains!

In the Midpines pictures ..there is a KAO campground site sign ... it was owned by a friend of mine ... and we found each other on line about 3 years ago. (lost each other when my computer crashed last year ... i guess I need to find her again!)


Ok ... I hope tomorrow while I'm under I dream of Yosemite and Mariposa ... I am so not looking forward to this surgery!!!!

I will post as soon as I can, but between MG, lupus and immunosuppresants, recovery tends to be a bit slower, so don't become alarmed if I take a bit longer than what you might expect. I also tend to push myself a bit ..so sometimes I bounce back faster than people expect ...so you never know ... I'm unpredictable! (grin)