6.25.2012

Because No One Puts Baby in the Corner

Not to upstage Jeremiah or anything, but late on Friday night I was admitted to the emergency room. As I was not able to drive and Jeremiah is on strict orders not to drive, I am going to say that we flew to the ER. Or rode horseback. Which sounds more realistic?

My joints/muscles were flamed up and I was in excruciating pain. Nothing was helping. Not a bath, not gentle massage, not heat. Nothing. I couldn't lie down, couldn't sit. The only thing I could do was pace. And cry. And there was some screaming mixed with snot-filled sinuses, which I am sure was a treat.

So we went to the ER using our wings/horses. It is really close to our house, and suburbia is quite quiet at one thirty in the morning. So our horses encountered minimal traffic.

I was almost immediately given a bed, even though they were packed. This did not matter because I could not sit down and spent my time standing and pacing the room until they made me lie down to get an IV.

At this point, they told me that I would be getting morphine, something for nausea, and valium. And then I started to cry, because I HATE drugs of any kind and they scare me. Plus, the nurse could not find any veins (typical) and ended up using the inside of my arm, half way up. Very painful, Friends. So I was snot crying about the pain, stress, sleeplessness, and the fear of the morphine.

Then after, I felt a little better. Still in pain, but not crying because my back was touching the bed. Also not pain free enough to be considered okay, so I got my second dose of morphine. At this point, I cared a little less. Also at this point, conversations became a bit more interesting.

Me: Ooh, Roseanne is on! I love this show!
J: Okay...
Me: I love John Goodman.
J: Quizzical look in my direction
Me: He's bringing sexy back, Jeremiah.
J: Really? Should I gain a hundred pounds?
Me: Well, no. But you would look GOOD in that flannel shirt. And with some curly hair. At this point in the conversation, I may have growled a little. This is an argument we have had for years. I think Jeremiah should bring back the cowboy look. I don't know if it's because he grew up on a farm or what, but I think he could rock the boots, hat, and plaid/flannel shirt. I never win this argument. 
Nurse: How are we doing in here?
J: Oh, I think the morphine is kicking in.

And also this, about an hour into the stay:
J: Shit. This chair is really uncomfortable.
Me: Oh, really?
J: Yeah.
Me: Yeah? You let me know when you sleep in one of those chairs for THREE WHOLE DAYS while watching someone you love in the aftermath of a craniotomy, then we will talk.


I am home now and feeling better, but not too psyched about the fact that I have had such a serious episode, because my doctor has helped me manage it so well, it worries me that something like this managed to sneak through the meds.


Diseases suck.

So how was your weekend?

p.s. My nurse looked like Jane Lynch and was almost as funny. That could be the morphine talking, but I really do think she was funny.

p.p.s. I have added a picture of my bruise so you can feel my pain.
This is where they shot the morphine into me. Or, as we now know it, the truth serum. After Roseanne ended, Three's Company came on and I announced to Jeremiah that young John Ritter was hot.

6.22.2012

Why I Hate Dunkin Donuts


Dear Dunkin Donuts,
In my entire adult life, I have stopped by twice. Both times have been sucky. And you know what they say (well, everyone except George W. knows this saying): Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

And seriously. Shame on me.

First of all, it is important to note that Jeremiah and I are not doughnut people. We were heading out of town two years ago and wanted to get doughnuts, as that is one of the few times we treat ourselves to them - on a trip.

So we stopped and went in to your store/restaurant(?)/business/coffee shop (what the hell do you call Dunkin Donuts?). It was still early - maybe eight or so - and almost all of your wire baskets that are SUPPOSED to hold doughnuts are empty. Apparently, you ran out.

How do you run out of doughnuts? You are a doughnut shop. It is your entire business, besides the coffee. It'd be like a pizza place running out of dough. McDonald's running out of fries.

Fast forward to Wednesday. I took Jeremiah out to celebrate the start of birthday week. We passed a Dunkin Donuts and thought we would give you another shot.

We were the only ones in there. We stood back from the register so you would see that we were not ready to order.

Guy 1: Hey Guys! Welcome! Can I take your order?
Us: Still looking thanks.
Guy1: Well, let me know when you are ready! My name is Gus!

What when wrong here? Anyone? Okay, I'll go. You do NOT address your customers as "Hey Guys". You just don't. Especially when one of them is a GIRL. I learned the proper way to address customers when I worked with people and food, you should, too.

Thirty seconds later:
Girl: Hi! Welcome! Can I help you?
Us: Still looking, thanks.
Girl: Well, I will be helping you when you are ready.

Then she proceeds to stand in front of the doughnuts. And ask us several more times if we are ready. This prompted Jeremiah, who is VERY hard to annoy, to say, "No, because we are trying to see the doughnuts and you are standing directly in front of them."

Then another guy asks to take our order (seriously, Dunkin Donuts, are you working on commission? You have WAY to many people working.).

All within maybe one minute. We probably would have ordered faster if we hadn't been interrupted every ten seconds. And if you see that someone else has asked us, why the hell are you asking, too?

We place our order, I go to pay, and the girl taking our order has already forgotten what we ordered and couldn't fill it.

Seriously.

And then, we get our frozen drinks and there is no whippy cream on top. Jeremiah points out that they are supposed to have whippy on top, and the guy says...

Wait for it...

They ran out.

Again, you are a doughnut and COFFEE shop. You have this drink advertised all over your establishment. Everywhere are pictures of this new drink you want your customers to try. And then you can't freaking make it correctly because you ran out of the ingredients needed to make it?

Just so you know, Starbucks NEVER runs out of whippy. Neither does McDonald's for that matter.

Stupid Dunkin Donuts. We will never be coming back. Never.

Hugs & Kisses,
Emily

6.19.2012

Goals

I've got some stories still to share regarding Jeremiah and the hospital stay, but I have not really felt like revisiting that yet - I am sure that you understand.

Here is what we've been doing around the house:
  • Cleaning/Straightening up
  • Sanding the bookcases/Preparing them to be sanded (removing hooks, staples, etc.). Roles have been reversed with this, and I am doing the sanding, which means it is going slow and steady. Too much with the sander and it triggers my muscle/joint problem.
  • Trying new recipes - I made French toast stuffed with Biscoff and served with strawberries for Jeremiah on Sunday. We *might* get brave enough to try the spaghetti squash that came in our basket. Then again, maybe not. Also on the agenda - smashed potatoes.
  • A shit ton of laundry. I had not done any colored laundry since before school let out. I finally did it over the weekend. We almost had to revert to bathing suit underwear. Or go without. Jeremiah.
  •  I have been reading like crazy. 
  • Swimming
And here is what is on the goals list:
  • Laundromat to wash the larger rugs (then I can put the rug down in my room)
  • Buying at least one new rug for the kitchen
  • Maybe a rug for under the table in the dining nook?
  •  Priming & painting the shelves.
  • Hanging shelves, moving the bookshelves upstairs.
  • Tear apart my bathroom (it will be a half-gut, meaning I can still shower in there during the remodel but not tinkle) for the remodel (there will be several posts on this)
  • Paint picture frames, finish picture shelves & wall gallery.
  • Buy cover for chair in my room.
 Jeremiah is doing well. He still has some pain, but most of the bruising is gone. He is able to swim with me daily, but he can't submerge his head in the pool. He can't get too much sun either, so he is bringing back the bandanna. We just make sure he wears neutral colors when we go out.

What's everyone else up to lately?

6.06.2012

Jeremiah, Part 2: Why You Should ALWAYS Listen to Your Girlfriend

I am going to preface this story by saying that I know that sometimes I may take things lightly and joke, but believe me, I have not taken this lightly at all. Humor and writing are my coping mechanisms. As a friend pointed out in the midst of my breakdown in the neuro waiting room (while I was blasting all the people who were laughing, playing games, and eating because they weren't having breakdowns), we all handle our stress/grief/nerves in different ways.

Jeremiah's whole story starts back in 2007. That's when I first noticed that his eye was protruding a bit.

Oops, actually it starts back when Jeremiah was four or so and blinded by a wiffle ball that his brother threw. Not as in, he lost some sight, but as in, only shadows in the left eye.

So back to 2007 - I noticed that the right eye was bulging. As we had only been dating for about a year, I approached this as gently as possible. He didn't seem concerned. While in Michigan, an acquaintance noticed it and mentioned it to Jeremiah's mom. Still he was not concerned. After much nagging and about a year, in 2008ish he went to a regular physician and an eye doctor. Both told him he was fine. No tests, nothing. And apparently two shitty-ass doctors trump the girlfriend with no medical degree.

In the past year or so, I noticed that it seemed to be getting worse. I convinced him to see my eye doctors (who are fantastic, by the way) and they immediately were concerned (as any GOOD doctor should be). They sent him to another doctor. This doctor ordered MRIs and CAT scans, but when all was said and done, was not comfortable diagnosing or working on it. So on to another doctor - an ENT who worked in the orbital lobe. This guy said it was bone, but also that because it was heading towards Jeremiah's frontal lobe, HE was not comfortable working on it.

The tumor. You can see that it has almost completely blocked the optic nerves.


So we got sent to a fancy brain surgeon. He is supposedly so good that people come from all over the country to have him work on them and also doctors from all over come to observe. This guy seemed confident that he could do it. Surgery was scheduled.

Meanwhile, there were a few concerns. One - if they did not operate, the tumor (which was in his good eye socket) could completely cut off the optic nerve, making Jeremiah blind in both eyes.
Two - if they DID operate, they could accidentally do something to the optic nerves, and he could be completely blind.

So you can imagine, there was a lot of stress and concerns. Jeremiah made me practice walking him around with his eyes closed.

Day of surgery arrives.

I found Maddie in my overnight bag. She was not allowed to come with us.
Jeremiah's vitals and everything were perfect. They wheeled him away to surgery. About four hours later, he was done. The doctors came to speak with me and told me that he was resting, in a lot of pain, and that the surgery had gone very well. In the future, they might have to go back in if it grows back, but that hopefully they would be able to go in through the nose this time, as it is smaller and more manageable.

In ICU, Jeremiah had to spend only one night. He was allergic to the first pain killer that they gave him, but once they switched it, he rested comfortably. They wanted to send him home the next day (I flipped out. Who goes home one day after a craniotomy?) but agreed to keep him another night, but this time in a regular room on the neuro floor, with a regular door (not a glass wall with people staring in) and a lot less restrictions. His vitals this entire time were perfect - better than mine, for sure, and a lot of that is due to the biking. I never in my life have been so happy to have washed all his stretchy bike pants - if that's what it takes to keep his vitals excellent, I will wash those stretchy pants the rest of my life.

He did excellent the second night, and by noon the following day, we were on our way home.

Since we have been home he has been slowly getting his strength back. He is moving around, listening to music, we have been taking short walks, etc.

That's it for Part 2. But let this be a lesson to you all - The girlfriend is ALWAYS right.

6.05.2012

Jeremiah, Part 1

For those of you that aren't aware, Jeremiah had a craniotomy last week.

If you are feeling brave, go ahead and Google that.

If you are feeling super brave, do that and then do an image search.

For the rest of us, a craniotomy is where they slice open the scalp, pull it down, and then saw open the skull.

Just the basics for now:
He is now home and doing well.
They removed most of the tumor that was growing in the eye socket/heading toward the frontal lobe.
It is benign.

Oh, and he wanted me to take pictures. So here goes. These are from his first day out of ICU.



More details later.