Friday, May 25, 2012

If you are going to NYC or live in/near NYC

Is there anyone here going to NYC or in/near NYC? I can get tickets for a kickstarter play. I need a response soon.

I certainly can't get to NY at this time.  I found the kickstarter through RM on LJ.  She's also on Wordpress.  Great writer, you should go read her blogs. 

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1604890644/dogboy-and-justine-workshop-production

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Sigh. My cat

My cat Thomas recently had to go to the vet because he wasn't eating. This is the second time he had to go. Well, the vet recommended a sonogram to see if the specialist could see why. The specialist has said that Thomas' intestinal lining is inflamed, and it could be either Irritable Bowel Disease or some sort of lymphoma. She mentioned the name of the lymphoma, but I've forgotten it now. To know for sure he has to have a biopsy. The biopsy will run about $800 to $1200. Money I really don't have, and I would have to borrow from relatives.

I hate it when my cat gets sick. I hate that I don't have the good job I did way back when I worked at AT&T/Lucent/Tyco.

Sigh...

Friday, February 17, 2012

From The Save Undershaw Preseveration Trust

The Great Sherlock Holmes Debate 2 - It’s On

We’ve started to receive mock-up RDJ vs Cumberbatch posters from fans around the world. We’re offering $100 worth of Sherlock Holmes books for the best one we see before the 18th March. Point us at them and we will pin the best of them to the Pinterest Board for the debate. Remember that those that include Undershaw are likely to get scored much higher……?

Calling on all artists. See an earlier post for more details.


You can find more details at their Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Undershaw-Preservation-Trust/143840102309365

Or their website

http://www.saveundershaw.com


Please spread the word

Thursday, February 2, 2012

And back to the hospital we go...

Okay, so my mom's been at this physical therapy place for about a week. (It's the Methodist Rehabilitation Center, but when you say you have a relative in rehab, it doesn't sound like they are recovering from a spinal injury.)

She's been having pain, but apparently everyone had been assuming it was due to having the back surgery.

Well, the pain had been getting worse, she's been feeling nauseous after eating, and she threw up a few times. (I didn't know that bit.) So the nurse did a sonogram and she's got a HUGE gallstone. My dad called me while I was at work to tell me that they were going to transfer her back to the hospital but he didn't know when.

Two minutes after I get home, my mom calls. They were transferring her like NOW so my dad and I had to run over to her room and get her stuff out of it. Then we had to hurry over to the hospital and try to find what room she was in.

They are going to take her gall bladder out tomorrow about noon. I've already called 1st job (boy am I glad I finished all my card accounts for this week) to let them know that I am definitely not making it in tomorrow.

Oh, get this. One of the paramedics (from the ambulance service) was taking my mom's blood pressure while the ambulance was stopped at a light. The woman was standing, and the ambulance is not supposed to move while the staff are standing. The light changed, but the ambulance couldn't move. Well, the SUV behind the ambulance starting honking. Several times honking.

Anyway, going back to the hospital tomorrow.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

That darned meninigioma

Well, my mom went into Methodist Dallas for surgery to remove more of the tumor January 24. She started having trouble with the right leg this time. She couldn't use her sewing machine because the tumor had grown back.

Doc Ostrow said that he would have to go back and cut out as much as he could of the tumor. (I didn't get to ask how much he cut out this time, and if it could grow back. My dad didn't let me get a question in edgewise.)

They did a whole bunch of testing the week before, so I had a really crazy week that week, trying to do both my jobs and helping my dad manage my mom's appointments.

My dad rented a wheelchair van so he could take her to appointments as she can't use her legs anymore and get in the car. But apparently the first time, my dad didn't secure my mom's wheelchair when he took her to an appointment. (I was sick and didn't go with them that first time.) I can just picture my mom trying to alert my dad to this fact, while he's driving along and can't hear her. There's got to be a comedy skit in there somewhere.

So I would hook and strap the wheelchair down, then belt her in. (An advantage of having ridden the bus, I know how to do all that from watching the bus driver.)

I've also been trying to get my mom to sign up for DART handi-rides. They have a 'thing' where the subscriber of the service, if they have an helper, the helper rides free.

So we had to be at the hospital about 7 am on the day of the surgery. They took her off for surgery at a little after nine. The surgery didn't take as long this time. Ostrow called for my dad and me a little after 11 am. But they didn't get a room for her in the "Neuroscience Center" until after 7 pm. They had wait for someone to be discharged. Yeah.

Plus I know that there was a group of black church women (who were with someone) who was also going into the neuro-care unit. (He had a brain tumor and they were in the waiting room before my dad and I got in there.) So we didn't get home until after 10 pm.

I wanted to ask Ostrow if the tumor would grow back again, how much it had grown, but I couldn't get a question in edge-wise with my dad's bad hearing. I'll try to remember to make a list of questions, and drop it off at his office.

I also can't remember right now who I told at the hospital, "My dad isn't ignoring you, he just can't hear you."

A man in the waiting room was telling the group he was with, about his experience with morphine. He had a couple heart attacks and had to have surgery. He started having paranoid delusions that the staff was out to kill him. If they took blood, he had to touch it to make sure it was really his blood. He had a friend who was retired military who would come by and pretend to stand guard (apparently that helped some.) He said he would beg his friend not to fall asleep because "they will kill you first, then kill me."

Once a male nurse was attempting to get him to go to sleep, and he told the guy, "I'm a customer here, you can't treat me like this!" and the nurse told him to "shut and go to sleep!"

He was with a younger woman (daughter, niece, I wasn't sure, but she seem to be a relative) and she mentioned how she and a young man (also with the group later) were always doing their best to be super nice to the staff, because of the way heart-attack guy had been acting, and she said that the staff was always bringing them snacks and drinks.

He said that they took him off the morphine a.s.a.p. I don't blame them.

The group with NoMorphineGuy was a pretty big group, and they actually brought pillows and blankets with them. They started out a small group, but more kept trickling in. One lady was saying she should have hired a pet sitter, while another lady said that her mother was dropping by to take her dogs out. A young couple with this group had brought their laptop for entertainment.

I was wishing I had hired a pet sitter too. Another reason I want to know if we are doing this again in four years time. Definitely hire a pet sitter next time.

I did a few small drawings, I should post those later.

They changed the seating in the waiting room. There are mostly chairs there now. And the few couches they had are sort of small and not very comfy. Of course, if you are really sleepy, you can still fall asleep on them. I had worked at Kohl's the night before.

They used to have big soft comfy couches. There used to be a small dining table with some chairs but that is gone as well.

The BlackChurchLadies would hold a 'rousing' praying a couple times. Pretty interesting to watch. I've often thought it's almost a 'shamanistic' way of praying.

And you know I've worked in customer service, when I answered the phone in the waiting room with "Methodist waiting room." That phone was supposed to be for outbound calls, but I suspect that they called on that phone because the other phone was occupied. Or they were looking for someone who had called them earlier. The family they were looking for had already moved from the waiting room. At least that's what the volunteer told them. I can't believe I didn't eavesdrop on what else she said to them. I might have missed a story opportunity there!

On the 27th, I worked a card account, then laid down for a little nap, because I had to go into Kohl's that evening. Well, about 30 minutes into my nap, a woman from the hospital called. They were going to transfer my mom to the new Methodist Rehabilitation Hospital that afternoon at 5 pm. The rehab place had a spot open, so that's why they transferred her so quickly.

I guess she also didn't take as long to recover this time as last time.

So we had to hurry over to the hospital and get my mom's stuff out of her closet in her room. Then we had to wait for the ambulance service. They came pretty close to time. My mom asked if I could ride in the ambulance with her, and the guy said I would have to ride in front. (My mom watches way too much TV. lol!) I ended up riding with my dad.

Needless to say, when I got home Friday, I was pretty tired. Thankfully when I called in at work, one of the supervisors told me she was going to call someone else in. So I didn't have to go in at all. Bad bit; my paycheck is going suck next week.

What I like about the new rehab place: It's new and shiny and built in 2008.

What I don't like: It's 15 miles from where we live, and you have to go by freeway, and that darned freeway ramp is too short. It's freaked me out a few times.

At Kohl's our hours have been reduced because we have gone to the e-signs. So a supervisor was asking me about POS, and I'm really not sure about it. My days are so packed right now, trying to do both jobs and visit my mom. I only typed this up because something woke me up early.

I need to go out to do more card accounts. Later. (I also need to get coffee first.)