Pertussis

Just when you thought it was safe to go out and about, guess what seemingly eradicated childhood disease is making the rounds? You guessed it! Pertussis, otherwise known as Whooping Cough.

Why is it making the rounds? Or better yet, why is it making the rounds among children who have been immunized? Because people are refusing immunizations in droves. So, their children get these diseases. But, these folks don't keep their children away from other children so we all suffer from their decisions.

I can tell you that if my immunized kids get pertussis I am going to be seriously pissed.

Wait, if you are reading this and don't know me well, don't jump to conclusions about my motives. Don't tell me about poor kids with autism from shots (you definitely don't want to get me started about that one) and how they aren't necessary any more. I AM a mom of an autistic kid, one who likely developed symptoms as a direct result of the mercury based preservative in the doses that he received. I get it.

However, that doesn't mean that these parents and their ill functioning logic are off the hook. Oh NO!!! See, immunizations don't contain any of those preservatives anymore. Plus, as an informed parent (and not one jumping, uninformed, on a bandwagon) you can insist that your child receive a dose with no preservatives at all. This is what I do for my Aspie kid. He gets all of his shots and is kept healthy that way.

I understand trying to avoid autism. But, if my kid can be immunized in a way that does no further harm, then all kids should be protected. I immunize my kids in hopes of avoiding deadly disease. Perhaps I should immunize them against the by-products of uninformed, unintelligent parents.

I have a kid with autism. To have kid with autism who has whooping cough would push me right over the edge.

Sigh.

The beat goes on---and on.

There is very little activity of note around here. Since I am post surgery, but have to wait to get my stitches out, I am very limited in what I can and can't do.

I'm very bored.

I have read books and watched movies and talked to friends. And while I have greatly enjoyed all of those activities, I really miss having some level of freedom and independence.

I guess I like sitting around the house better when it is my CHOICE to do it. Right now, I feel like a lazy slug. Sigh.

The boys have been checking my volunteer blackberry bushes and we are getting some fruit off of them. The spring rains that we have had really helped out with that. We are putting the fruit in the freezer to work up later into jellies, jams, smoothies, whatever!

Today, I will venture out just a little bit. I will take DS11 for a haircut, a doctor's appt (asthma is flaring up again), and to the pharmacy to fill prescriptions. Can't wait! I get to go bye-bye.

Can you tell that I have been cooped up a little too long???

Summertime, and the living's easy....

Imagine that line sung with a sultry, sexy voice that I don't have.

Well, not exactly easy, especially if you are me. My klutzy nature ensures that I am constantly on the brink of some minor (generally) disaster or another. At least it helps to bolster my prayer life when things are out of control.

We are back from our glorious, week long vacation at Jekyll Island. Sigh.

What a nice, calm place (filled with family and wonderful friends) to recuperate from my little surgery. Ahhh.

Except that I fell (hard) on my fanny the first day we arrived. On tile. Tile laid on top of cement. Can you say, "boom?" Can you say, "very bruised tailbone?"

I was trying to go into the narrow, tiny bathroom in the vacation house.

So, I am in a wheelchair and/or walker as need requires. My butt hurts. REALLY hurts. To the point that I no longer notice that my foot hurts. So, I begin to walk. I figure that what is the worst that can happen. A little bit doesn't hurt. Soon, I am walking (hobbling) more and more because sitting is painful and getting up from a seated position is an excruciating proposition. My family doesn't want me to lay in bed all day (and it is boring after a few hours, even with a good book).

Eventually, I am comfortable sitting in a car for a little while and can get out fo the house and go for a ride. I enjoy it a lot after being more or less trapped in the house. My mother refers to it as, "airing myself out." We laugh a lot at this statement.

So, the verdict is that vacation was nice and restful. Perhaps a little too restful for me, but my family had a wonderful time. However, I do hope that I never have to do forced rest on vacation again. My toes never touched sand and I couldn't get close enough to hear the sound of the waves on the beach. I really missed that part.

But, I did get to see my friend Karen and her beautiful family. We have been close since we were in the 7th grade. She lives in Tennessee and I am a Georgia girl, so this is our one chance to connect each year. I wouldn't miss it for the world and I am so glad that I didn't even if it was a really bizarre thing to go on a 5 hour drive to vacation 3 days after surgery!

My Dad did the cutest thing for me, though. He took his phone to the beach during a quiet moment and made a 30 second recording of the waves on the beach. I could even hear the ocean sounds. I love it.

So now we are home and I can walk as much as I need to (comfortably) but am stuck in this surgical shoe and bandages for another week until my stitches come out. Hubby cut a donut pillow that we purchased so that it has a notch in the rear so that I can sit without my tailbone touching anything solid.

Is summertime easy? Well, not this year, but it is certainly looking up right now for me.

Fireproof

While Fireproof is not a new movie, by a long shot, it is one that I hadn't had a chance to watch until this evening. Hubby bought it for me to watch during my convalescence with my foot.

I must admit that I enjoyed it very much! The acting was great, the cinematography was even better than in Facing the Giants, and the story was morally sound. I truly loved it.

Every marriage has its ups and downs and even though I am blessed to have been married for almost 22 years, it brought up some really good points on how, not only how to save a troubled marriage, but on how to make sure that it doesn't become troubled.

I highly recommend it.

The Neuroma is Gone!!!

I am pleased as punch to report that the surgery went successfully. There were only a couple of minor snags in the whole process. It was tough getting the IV in place successfully, but the two nurses who worked on it were slow and deliberate (meaning that they didn't stick me over and over again and dig around) and eventually we found a vein that was agreeable. The other snag had to do with scheduling.

We were scheduled to arrive about 8:15 am and we arrived a bit early, at 8. They took me on back and I changed into my hospital gown, got my IV, signed the last of the consent forms, etc. Then hubby joined me. My orthopedist, Dr. Gary Stewart, came in to check with us and answer any questions about 9 am. He said that we were waiting for a surgical room to be ready and that we would be good to go in about 45 minutes.

Finally, the anesthesiologist came in about 9:50 and did a nerve block on my lower leg and gave me something to make me "a bit woozy" since we were about to go back. The woozy stuff worked, because I fell asleep. I woke up on my own about 11 am and we still hadn't been able to get into surgery. I was shocked.

Poor hubby, bless his heart, stood watch by my bedside the entire time, literally STANDING to watch over me. It had to be pretty boring for him. Hey, I fell asleep!

Finally, things happened really fast at a few minutes after 11 am. The nurse sent hubby to the waiting room, telling him that this type of surgery generally lasts a full hour. But, by noon, she told hubby to pull the car around because I was awake, lucid, and drinking a diet coke. Literally, she wheeled me to the rest room and out to the car. Easy breezy.

By evening, I needed my first pain pill. All seems to be going really well so far and I feel reasonably good. My parents brought dinner for all of us and several folks have called to either check on me or to let me know that they prayed for me. I am so grateful!

Blackberries, yum!

Today, I got to pick the first of our blackberries that have ripened. I probably got around 1.5 cups worth of small, sweet berries. This is only the beginning as there were many more that I wasn't prepared to dig for and so many unripened ones that I imagine that in a week we will be innundated!

This is such a blessing considering it is a wild bush that has just popped up on its own at the very end of our driveway. We are going to move it after the fruit ripens because if the county mowers come by, they will mow it down.

Another bush is popping up in the backyard as well. Hopefully we will be able to place both bushes in a good place to have a bit of a thicket. That means more berries each and every year! Not bad for volunteer bushes!!! Thank God for the bounty!

After sampling, I froze the remainder of the berries. I will keep adding to them until I have enough to make a couple of batches of jelly or jam. Then, if I have more, we'll have blackberry syrup for pancakes and gifts.

The homemade preserves I made from free pears last year were great gifts that everyone seems to love. A couple of people have asked to buy some. I was totally blown away! Now, if the pears come through we'll have both pear and blackberries to work with. I love the free fruit. It's the start of a fabulously frugal holiday season! Love that part.

The Big Dig...

No, I am not writing about the large tunnel project in Boston, MA. I am talking about attempting to regain a little control in my own home through "digging out" of the clutter mess that I (and family) have made over time.

Truth be told, I have a cute home and it is reasonably well decorated, but you can't see too much of it from the junk and clutter. Paper, in particular, tends to pile up horribly around here.

I have ulterior motives for this clean up, though. I will be on a walker and only partially mobile for a few days following my surgery to remove the Morton's neuroma. I want to be able to move around without fear of slipping on junk and falling down, making matters far worse.

Yes, I realize that it is pitiful that it has come to this to make me clean up my act. To my credit, I have definitely made some serious headway. I can see carpeting!!!

I also have tried to make very sure that I am keeping the laundry up so it won't be too horrible to keep up with . Today, I have done sheets and towels. Ahhh. Clean sheets.

I need to finish up in the kitchen (washing cabinets, counters, mopping) the bedroom (controlling the mess of craft supplies) and the master bathroom and then do a thorough vacuuming and then I think I will feel pretty good about life when people come to visit me.

The only major thing that I won't have had time to do is to shampoo my carpets and that definitely needs to be done. Maybe by the end of summer, I will feel up to doing that.

It won't be perfect, but it will be respectable. I just hope and pray that I can keep it up!