Friday, December 30, 2011

My Lastest Obsession...

I finally succumbed to the craze that is Pinterest.

I've had friends telling me about this great new website...a place where you can "pin" ideas you find on the internet to a "board" so you can refer to them later. It seemed like too much trouble to get involved with...why not just bookmark the webpage?

In October I went ahead and set up my own Pinterest account and decided to give it a try, and of course...now I'm hooked!

I love Pinterest. I have been able to find some great organizing and craft ideas, decorating tips, and yummy recipes.

Here are the few of the pins I've actually used:

Using some old bells we had, I created a door hanger for Christmas,
Since I collect nativities, I liked the idea of adding this to my collection,

I liked this pin, but I recreated it using better grammer. Mine says, "There are these boys who stole my heart...they call me mom." I need to get a picture of it.
I've also tried some yummy recipes:

My favorite ice cream is Rocky Road, so how could I resist trying these no bake Rocky Road Bars...they weren't quite as good as the ice cream, but they disappeared pretty quickly.
This Chunky Avocado Salsa also turned out pretty good. I made a big batch of it, thinking I would take some to work to share...we found so many uses for it over the weekend, there wasn't any left to share.
My latest pin to try is one for frozen smoothie packs to make and freeze for later, rather then going to Jamba Juice. I bought a frozen fruit package that contained strawberries, mangos, peaches, and pineapples then added frozen bananas and the yogurt...
...we'll see how they taste in the morning.

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas!

Even though the only decorations that made it out of the box this year were the Christmas lights, a set of snowman salt and pepper shakers, and one nativity...I think this has been one of my favorite Christmases!

As a family we decided that this year we would each get one gift each, and then we would be "Secret Santas" to another family. It was so much fun seeing the boys get excited as they figured out what the perfect gifts would be for this family.

Connor was lucky and found the gift he wanted to give while he was out shopping with friends on "Black Friday," but poor Tanner had to wait for Eli or I to be available to take him shopping. I had a report due to the American Bar Association by December 20th. It ended up being a LOT bigger then I anticipated, so I worked several late nights, which meant no shopping for Tanner. He and I did manage to get to the store one Saturday, but suddenly realized I'd left my wallet at home, so this was going to be a "planning" trip. Tanner was able to show me a few things he would like for himself and also figure out what would be the perfect gift for his friend. Finally on Monday, he made it back to the store with Eli and was able to make his purchase. Of course the first thing he did when he got home was wrap the gifts!

Yesterday it was so fun listening to the boys plot how to go about delivering the gifts without getting caught. Where should we park, what if their curtains were open, and which get away route would be best. Watching their excitement as we loaded the gifts into the car and all climbed in, because no one wanted to be left home, was contagious...it was good to see my two favorite boys caught up in the true spirit of Christmas!

Friday, December 9, 2011

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

I love this time of year! I love the hustle and bustle of trying to find the perfect gift for everyone on my list, I love the spirit of the season and the way it seems to bring out the best in people, I love listening to Christmas music at work, at home and in the car, I love decorating the Christmas tree, I love to seeing the bright Christmas lights on houses after dark as I drive through town, I love the yummy treats that my friends and neighbors share with me, I love watching snow fall and gently place a beautiful white blanket on everything it touches, I love walking through the toy asiles and seeing the kids get excited about all the toys as their parents tell them "Maybe Santa will bring it", I love decorating the house with all the festive decorations of the season, but what I love most is getting out my nativity collection and being reminded of the reason for it all. I love that Heavenly Father loved me enough to send his Son to be an example for me, to teach me, and to give his life that I may live again. Yep, it really is the most wonderful time of the year!!

Sunday, December 4, 2011

I'm the door and Eli's the window...or is it the other way around?

I have a friend at work. His name is Amir and he his a professor in the Finance and Economics department. Amir always greets me with a smile and a hug or pat on the back. When I first started at working at UVU one of my assignments was to help Amir with the Journal of Business Inquiry, which is an academic journal that is published by the Woodbury School of Business. As people heard I was helping Amir, they all warned me that he could be bossy and mean, and that he would monopolize my time. At the time I was helping Amir, I was also working on a report for the Legal Studies department's ABA approval, which was also very time consuming. One day as Amir was asking me to do something that I knew I wouldn't have time to do, I told him that I had another project I was working on and that I was only supposed to be helping him part time. He looked at me shocked, then apologized profusely for monopolizing all my time...just the opposite of what I expected after what everyone had told me. A few days later, Amir came into my office and told me I wouldn't need to be helping him anymore because he had made other arrangements through the Dean's office. I was sure that after that I would not see much of Amir anymore, but I was wrong. He always goes out of his way to say hi and ask me how I'm doing.
Tonight was the Woodbury School of Business Winter Party. We usually have a Fall Social as a school and then the individual departments have their own individual Christmas parties. This year we got rained out of our Fall Social, so it got rescheduled as a "Winter" party. The party was up at Sundance and it was all very nice. It was kind of fun to be celebrating with a big group instead of just our department.

As Eli and I walked up to the food line, Amir was at the end so I said "Hi" and introduced Eli. Eli and Amir chatted all the way through the line. At the end of the food table as we were getting ready to go to our separate tables, Amir grabbed Eli's arm and said, "Your wife is a very special lady." To which Eli joked, "My father always told me to marry someone better then me" and we went off to our table to eat with the group from my department.

Halfway through dinner I decided to refill my drink. As I walked over to the table where the drinks were, Amir was there getting a cup of coffee. When he saw me walk up, he grabbed my arm and said, "You have the nicest husband!" He then went on to say, "You see God really is a carpenter...well God's not the carpenter, but he's like the carpenter that makes the window and the door fit together perfectly." What a nice compliment!

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Weekends...

Today I am thankful for weekends! Saturdays give me a chance to get caught up on housework and projects that I don't have time to get done during the week. Sundays are my chance to rest and rejuvenate, to attend church and be spiritually fed.

Saturday, November 12, 2011:

Today I am thankful for the view out out my kitchen window, and the warmth of my home on this cold, blustery day!

Friday, November 11, 2011

Thank You!

Because of you, I am here
Because of you, I am able to live freely

Yet I do not know you
And I have not done anything for you

But there you stand, ready to fight
And there you are prepared to die
For me

You've fought before
And you'll fight again
For someone you don't know

So thank you Unknown Soldier
Fighting for me

I'm here because of you
And I owe my future to you

Today I am thankful for my father and all the men and women who have bravely fought to protect my freedom. Thank You!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Today I am grateful for the wonderful diagnostic technology that is available to the medical profession.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Today I am thankful for the beautiful mountains that surround me!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

I Am Truly Blessed!

I have been so busy this week that although I have been updating my facebook status with my gratitude posts, I have forgot to update my blog daily.

Sunday, November 6, 2011:
Today I am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and for the knowledge that I am a child of God. The knowledge that my Heavenly Father lives and loves me gives me great comfort. I know He knows me and that he is their to guide me always.

Monday, November 7, 2011:
Today I am thankful for the technology that makes my job SO much easier and efficient! Last week I was in Baltimore for a work conference and thanks to the internet, a laptop computer, and a wireless internet connection, I was able to check emails and follow-up with some issues that arose while I was away. If I had not been so connected, today would have been a really CRaZY day!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011:
Today I am thankful for family! It is so fun having so much extended family nearby and we always have a good time when we get together. We are lucky to have lots of our nieces and nephews (from both sides of our family) around, either because they are attending UVU or BYU or because they live in the area and lately we have had several opportunities to get together as a family for celebrations, which are always a TON of fun!

Saturday, November 5, 2011

Love My Boys!

Today I am thankful for my two wonderful boys! Connor and Tanner make me proud to be their mother every day! They are both working hard to make right choices and be doing things they know are right and will make me and their Heavenly Father proud.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Lucky Me!

Today I am thankful for my awesome husband. He is our handyman, mechanic, plumber, chauffeur, a great dad, caregiver to my father, and he truly is my best friend!

Thursday, November 3, 2011

I Am So Lucky!

Today I am thankful for the beautiful weather in Baltimore and for my job that allows me to travel. I am so lucky to have a job I love!

Most of the other Administrative Assistants in the School of Business do not get to travel. The American Bar Association provides trainings for many of the reports I have to write, so i am lucky enough to be able to attend the various trainings. Since starting at UVU, I have been lucky enough to travel to Dallas, Chicago (twice!), Portland, Minneapolis, Denver, and now Baltimore.

The travel is not the only reason I love my job. The School of Business had a reputation on campus for being the best school to work for. Everyone is very friendly and easy to work and get along with. I am lucky to work in a department that is really good about showing their appreciation for the things I do. It's so nice not just to love my job, but to love the people I work with too!

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Giving Thanks!

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to care for my dear father. He was such a good example and provider for our family as I was growing up. I am truly blessed to now be able to care for him.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Attitude of Gratitude...


Maybe it's because November is the month of Thanksgiving, or maybe it's because the year is drawing to a close, but right about this time each year I begin realizing all the blessings I have. I decided this year to show my gratitude with a daily post of "thanks giving."

Today I am thankful to have had such a wonderful mother! She was an awesome example, always happy, friendly to all, loved her family, and knew her Heavenly Father!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I’ll Love You Forever

Dad has been living in Utah for 2 1/2 years now, and the last year and half have been with us. Having dad in our home has really not changed our daily routines to much...besides the fact that Eli now stays home with dad. When we go out now, if dad is not coming with us, we just have to make sure someone is home with dad. And if dad is coming with us it takes longer to get ready and get going, plus dad's walking has slowed down considerably...I didn't really think that was possible...so getting dad even from the house to the car and then the car to the appointment takes at least an extra 10 to 15 minutes. I feel bad, because there are times when we are hurrying out for a quick trip to the bank or store & we sneak so dad doesn't ask to come along. I know he loves getting out, so I try to take him for rides or to walk around WalMart pretty regularly, but sometimes he doesn't get to come.

For the longest time the effects of the dementia have been slow, but lately dad's memory seems to be becoming worse at a faster pace. It's gotten to be that I can almost set my watch by the level of dad's confusion. It starts at about 7:20 p.m. every evening. He starts with, "So what's our status?" or "What time is someone going to take me home?" We explain that we are home, and he lives here with us. The next question is usually something to the effect of "Does my family know I'm here?" to which we explain that we are his family and that all the other family members also know where dad is and have even been here to visit him. That usually helps him for a bit, but typically less than 5 minutes later the routine starts over. It breaks my heart to see dad so confused, and about the third or fourth time he asks, he’ll say “I know you’ve told me this, but I just can’t remember…” I have to admit, it gets really tiring! But as frustrated as I get on the inside, I try not to let it show because I am sure dad is just as, if not more, frustrated.

Lately, at about 9:30 p.m., to help reduce the confusion, I will take him to his room and help him start getting ready for bed. I’ll get his dentures ready to soak, while he starts to change, then I’ll just sit in his recliner and we “visit” while he is getting his jammies on. In his room, with all his pictures and plaques, dad is not so lost. And I have to admit, growing up dad and I did not “visit” too often. Not that we had a bad relationship or anything…I was just closer to mom. Now, I take advantage of our chances to “visit,” which is usually looking through his pictures and having him tell me who all these people are, or me asking questions about when he was younger.

So last night as we were going through the routine, I thought of the cycle of life and the children’s book I’ll Love You Forever and how we are living that story…then this morning when I checked in on facebook, my friend had posted the following video that sums it up perfectly.


Thursday, June 2, 2011

Pain In The Neck...

Two years ago I had carpel tunnel surgery on my right wrist. At the time I was also having pain in my left wrist & knew that I would eventually need the same surgery on it too. The pain in my left wrist went away, so I waited on the second surgery. A few months ago the pain started up again, so I called to make a doctor's appointment. My doctor is really busy and hard to get in to see, so a lot of times they try to get you to see the PA, but I knew Eli and I were going on our cruise, so I took an appointment that was six weeks away.

We got back to town on May 14th and my appointment was on the 16th. I explained to the doctor that I thought I now had carpal tunnel in my left wrist, but that the pain was different this time. When I explained which fingers were numb, Dr. Curzon questioned the fact that my pinkie finger was numb because the carpal tunnel nerve does not affect the pinkie. He then asked if I'd been having any pain in my neck. I told him that back in September when I went to visit my sister I had slept wrong the first night and woke up with a kink in my neck, but the pain has never really gone away. He then explained that when there is a pinched nerve in the neck it affects the nerves in the pinkie. I went away from the appointment with two more appointments...one for an x-ray of my neck and one for a nerve conductivity test. YAY...not! Those nerve conductivity tests hurt!

Radiology at Central Utah Medical Center takes walk in appointments, so I went right from the doctor's office to CUMC for the x-ray. The nerve conductivity test was scheduled for Thursday, the 19th. On Wednesday, Dr. Curzon's nurse called to say they had the results of the x-ray back and it did show signs of deterioration probably caused by arthritis, so they wanted me to get an MRI also. I scheduled it for Thursday after the nerve test...Then I waited...

Dr. C had said to call his office if I did not hear from him within three days after the tests. I waited until Wednesday of the next week and didn't get any calls, so Thursday morning I called the doctor. He had taken a few extra days off since the following Monday was Memorial Day...I hate waiting!

Tuesday as I was walking in the door from work the phone started ringing, so I answered it. It was Dr. Curzon on the phone. He said the MRI showed deterioration in my C3, C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae with slight damage to the C7 also. He used a bunch of medical terminology, but basically said that arthritis was encroaching on the nerves and leaving them less room, but the nerve was not actually pinched...No wonder I've had a pain in my neck! He gave me some options. Physical Therapy was least invasive, but with the amount of deterioration I have it would not be enough. An x-ray guided epidural injection of cortisone was the next option, then two different types of surgery. The first not being as aggressive as the second, but with the number of vertebrae involved I may not be a good candidate for the "simple" surgery. I don't really want any surgery! Dr. C suggested I go for the injection and also have a consultation with the clinic that does the first type of surgery. If the injection works I can either cancel the consult or go and see if it is an option for down the road when the pain returns.

Today I went for the injection. The radiologist that performed the injection told me it would hurt at first and I may not feel any relief for a few days. OUCH! It felt like there was some huge person sitting on my back! Now my whole body aches like I have the flu...let's hope I feel better tomorrow!

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Do You See What I See?

Eli and I put a new TV on layaway a while back and when we went to pick it up we brought Connor along in case Eli needed help lifting it. When we got to the counter to make our final payment we were informed that our TV had been sold! While Eli and I were waiting to talk to a manager about a solution, I told Connor to go look at recliners and see if they had any that matched our couches. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I referred to the couches as red, wine, or burgundy colored. To which Connor replied, "You mean our couches aren't brown?"

Duh! I forgot that Connor was colorblind for reds and greens!

Actually both Connor and Tanner are colorblind. I guess it's just easy to forget, because it doesn't keep them from living a "normal" life. Since that incident though, I have been more aware of reds and greens when I see them and start to wonder how what I am seeing would be viewed by my boys. Thanks to this website I can get an idea of how the world looks through the eyes of my two boys.

When I see this:



Connor & Tanner see this:



WOW! What a contrast to what I see! It gives me a whole new appreciation for being able see all the colors of the rainbow!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Happy Anniversary Baby...

I am lucky to be able to do a bit of traveling in my job & usually get the opportunity to attend one, maybe two conferences a year and in October I had the chance to go to Indianapolis, IN. On the second day of the conference, as a colleague and I were getting on the elevator to go to our next meeting, my cell phone rang. It was Eli and he had just one question for me, "Have you used up all your vacation time visiting Suzy?" I let him know that I still had about three weeks worth of vacation time because I was able to use sick leave when I visited Suzy and didn't think any more of the conversation. You see, Eli was trying to surprise me by booking a Hawaiian cruise for our 20th anniversary which was coming in May. When he hung up the phone after talking to me he explained to the boys what he was up too, and Tanner told him he would never be able to keep the secret.

Well...Tanner was right! After booking the cruise, Eli was having so much fun looking at the different excursions and things there were to do on the different islands that he had to share his excitement with me.

In November while we were down at Norm & Toni's for Thanksgiving, we made arrangements to have dad spend the two weeks during the cruise with them. Then we started booking our excursions and dreaming about fun it was going to be.

The cruise was booked with Princess Cruise Line and the ship that was home for two weeks was the Golden Princess. We boarded at about 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 27th and headed for Hawaii at about 5:30. It takes the ship 4 1/2 days to get to Hawaii, but we had plenty to do during that time. There were workshops, movies, games and street entertainment during the day and wonderful meals and shows in the evenings.

For our dinner option we chose "Open Dining", which meant we could go to dinner any time after 5:30 and would be seated with other couples at the same table. What a wonderful opportunity to meet some great people! It was kind of fun to then run into them at other functions later. There were two of the couples we ended up running into pretty regularly...Dick & Lee from Gulf Shores, Alabama and Rusty & Cheryl from Mesa, Arizona. Not only was it fun getting to know them, but both couples were great examples to us as good Christians. They are all very active volunteering...it actually made Eli and I excited to put a few more years behind us and be able to devote more time in service to the Lord and others.

The first port we visited was in Hilo on the big island. While we were there it was cloudy and cool, but we didn't mind because the excursion we had planned was a hike through the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden near Onomea Bay. Some of the climbs were kinda steep and I don't think we would have enjoyed it as much if the weather had been hot and sunny. The gardens are a museum of living plants on 40-acres. It was wonderful to hike the nature trails meandering through a true tropical rainforest, crossing bubbling streams, passing several beautiful waterfalls and winding down to the beautiful ocean vistas along the rugged Pacific coast.









That evening while we dined and slept, the ship sailed for Honolulu on the island of Oahu. We knew we would be there the whole day, so Eli & I had gone online a reserved tickets & a shuttle to the Polynesian Cultural Center on the other side of the island in Laie. One of the shuttle stops we could choose was at Aloha Tower, which is right by the pier where we were to dock, so we chose it. We got off the ship at 8:30 and didn't need to be at our shuttle stop until 10:00, so we decided we would find the hotel where the shuttle was scheduled to stop then get some breakfast. As we were walking toward Aloha Tower we came upon some cabbies and stopped to ask how far the hotel was...turns out it is nowhere near Aloha Tower, but was 2 1/2 miles away. We figured we could walk it, but the cabbie then told us that it's a $12 ride to the hotel or a $100 ride to the PCC if we miss the shuttle. We opted for the cab ride over, then found breakfast near the hotel. The shuttle was about 10 minutes early and as we were waiting for other passengers we told the bus driver about how messed up the online directions had been, then asked if he thought we would be able to get back to Pier 2 by 10:30 that night. Right then he got on the phone & called dispatch to get permission to make a stop at the pier before going to his first stop. YAY! Now we could go and have fun and not worry about being late for the ship!

The PCC was so much fun. I had been there in 1979 the summer after I graduated, but Eli had never been before. Learning the traditions and beliefs of all the Polynesian cultures was fun...seeing the pride that the people in the shows had for their culture was heartwarming. The shows in the villages were all very entertaining. Then we attended a luau with lots of tasty food and entertainment.


We were invited up to the stage with everyone else that was celebrating an anniversary because they said they had a gift...the gift was an anniversary dance!
After dinner we got to have a backstage tour before the big show began. How interesting to see all that goes in to putting on their production "Ha: Breath of Life" It was like a roadshow on steroids!

The evening sky after the show was absolutely gorgeous!

We had a few late passengers on the bus going back & were a little worried when the bus that was chartered by Princess for cruise members (we saved $200 by booking separately) left 10 minutes before us, but our wonderful bus driver Moe was able to make up the time & we arrived at the pier at the same time...Good thing! Princess will leave you if you are late getting back from an excursion that was not booked through them.

After such a busy day we went right to bed and woke up in Nawiliwili on Kaua'i.

We did a little shopping in the morning and then went snorkeling at noon. WOW! It was all so BEAUTIFUL! The colors of the fish were so vibrant, and there were so many different kinds in the little cove where we were. We also saw some sea turtles that had come in to the rocks to feed.






Our tour guide also caught an octopus, which I opted not to hold!
We had so much fun snorkeling that we have decided to get our own gear and make it a new hobby.

That night while we slept the ship sailed for Lahaina on Maui.

We signed up to go on a submarine tour while in Lahaina. A boat took us out to where the submarine was submerged. When it surfaced we traded places with the people from the previous tour. The seating on the sub was arranged in a way that each person had their own port hole to look out. We went down to 194 ft. below sea level. It was fun to do, but the fish weren't nearly as beautiful as the ones we saw snorkeling. The fish are so far from sunlight that all their beautiful colors look grey. The only color we could see that deep was yellow. We did get to see a shark though...it was too fast to get a picture.

My picture of the yellow fish didn't turn out, so this is from the Atlantis website.

Four islands in four days! It was so much fun though. The islands are all so different from each other that visting each one brought new scenery, vegetation and weather.

The four days from Hawaii to Encinada were very relaxing! The ship docked in Encinada for 1/2 a day before returning to Las Angeles...it needed to dock in a foreign port in order to run the casino. After being so busy with all our excursions, it was nice to relax. One of the perks that Princess offers is having breakfast brought to your stateroom every morning, but on the way back we chose to sleep in instead. We spent lazy days visiting with the friends we made and there was still plenty of entertainment in the evenings.

There were a few more formal evenings on the ship. It was a lot of fun to get dressed up and have our pictures taken.
Rusty & Cheryl Foster


It just so happened that one of the formal nights was on our new friend Rusty's 65th birthday and another was on he and his wife Cheryl's 45th wedding anniversary and we were lucky enough to celebrate with them. The last night of the cruise was our 20th anniversary, so even though it wasn't a formal night they got dressed up with us to celebrate. What a fun evening enjoying the company of our new friends!

Michelle & Eli, Robert & Janet, Rusty & Cheryl
Lee & Dick

What a wonderful way to celebrate 20 years together!

It's funny...at our wedding reception someone told me, "Congratulations! We just hope it lasts!" I wasn't sure whether to say thanks or what. Anyway, it hasn't always been easy. We have started down several roads and found we needed to go back to the beginning and start again, but we are truly best friends and there is no one else I would rather be going through this life with as my eternal partner!

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Listening to the Universe...

This was taken after they removed the IV's...Eli was trying to straighten out the wires so he could sleep without getting tangled up and ended up making a bigger mess! It was so funny I had to get a picture.

Eli ended up in the hospital from January 17th through the 21st. His blood sugar was so high that they wanted to bring it down slowly, so that his body wouldn't be shocked again. They stopped the IV insulin on the 19th and began trying to figure out just how much insulin he was going to need to inject daily. We also received a bunch of Diabetic training to help us understand what is going on with Eli's body and to learn how to control the diabetes.

They thought that it would take a few days to figure out the insulin dosage Eli would need, but they had it figured out the first day off the IV's. We had hoped that would mean he could come home Thursday, but you can't be released right from the ICU. They needed to transfer him to another room on another floor first and watch him for another day.

After getting his blood sugar down to a normal level, it stayed there pretty consistently and Eli wasn't needing to inject much insulin. They gave him a target range for his blood sugar and after he tested he was to inject the amount of insulin needed to get him to the target level. Then at meal time he needed to count the carbs in the meal he was going to eat, check his sugar levels, and inject the needed amount of insulin to compensate for the carbs turning to sugar once they were digested. The thing was...he was pretty consistently right where he needed to be.

Just before Eli was released a Diabetes Nurse came by to make sure we had all the supplies we needed and to answer any questions we might have. When Eli explained where his levels were and how things were going, she mentioned he should keep track and follow-up with his doctor. She suggested that the doctor may decide not to treat him with insulin if it looked like his body was actually still manufacturing it.

You see...I think that Eli's blood sugar had started going up back in December when we were so busy with the remodel. Eli is one of those guys that when he is working on a project, he just wants to get it done. He will get up and start working without even eating breakfast and then keep working until the project is done. The problem was that we were all so involved that by the time we were ready to quit we were SO hungry and worn out, that instead of taking the time to prepare something here at home, we would go out to eat.

Then in January, when we thought Eli had a cold or the flu, that was his body telling him to slow down...but did he listen? Nope, he had things to get done, so he just kept pushing.

There were even other hints that we totally missed! Eli's eyeglasses were not quite doing the trick anymore and things were looking blurry even with them on, so about a week before he was admitted to the hospital Eli got new glasses...duh, poor vision is a side effect of uncontrolled Diabetes. Now that his blood sugar is under control the new prescription in his lenses is all wrong. Luckily the eyeglasses place is going to let him wait a month until things get to normal and then they will redo his glasses free.

Eli had also been needing to go to the bathroom a LOT more then usual. We just figured that it was due to the fact that he had been drinking more lately because while he was "sick" he just didn't feel like eating...frequent urination is another sign of uncontrolled Diabetes.

Yep, our bodies are a marvelous creation! The way all the parts communicate with each other and work together in unison is just amazing to me. The biggest lesson we have learned form all this is to slow down, take care of ourselves & listen.

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Life...

Sometimes you can just be going along, living your life, doing the things you always do, and life sends you a curve ball telling you to slow down! Lately, we have had so much going on and have been trying to do so much, that we really haven't been taking the time to be taking care of ourselves. Well, yesterday it all caught up with Eli.

Eli was diagnosed with diabetes about six months ago. At the time the doctor told him he wouldn't need insulin, but would need to take medicine, watch his diet, and get lots of exercise. He was doing really well too and was beginning to lose weight and feel healthy...that is until we got off track during Christmas break.

Our poor boys hate when there is a break in school, because it usually means time to start a new project at the house to Eli & I. We like to take advantage of having the extra hands for a full days work...we do try to find time for fun too, but it's usually the hard work that is the lasting memory.

When we first bought "this old house" the floor plan was just wacky! When you came in the front door you were standing in my kitchen & the refrigerator was behind the open door. There were lots of things we wanted to change. But knowing it was all going to take time, I had Eli build a wall about three or four feet in front of the door to create a small entry.

After we moved the kitchen, we turned the old kitchen into an office area. We were also still looking at how we could open up that area to make the living room bigger, so our furniture didn't seem so crowded. Having the baby grand piano, it gets pretty tight, especially when we add a Christmas tree to the mix! Eli was looking at how much space would be added if we opened the entryway into the office area from the living room when I suggested we just take out the wall we had built. So that was the planned project for Christmas break...No big deal!?

What was so easily said, was not easily done. Back when we laid our hardwood floor I'd had this great idea that we should have the planks in the entryway going the opposite direction of the living room. Plus, the floor was put in after the wall had been built! This meant we needed to pull up and relay part of the floor, so it would match the rest of the room...thank Heaven's we still have lots of flooring.

Our days during the remodel were kept pretty busy. We had to knock down the old walls, rewire electric connections that had been in the now gone walls, pull up and relay portions of the flooring, add a support beam to the ceiling, put sheet-rock over the cinder-block wall that was in the old office area & other areas that had been exposed by taking out walls & rewiring, mud & tape, paint, and add molding. Simple, right?! We had figured out a schedule that would have it all completed a couple of days before the break was over, so that we could also do something fun as a family...yeah right!

Anyone that has ever started a home remodel project knows that there are always little things that turn into big things adding time to the project timeline. As the break was coming to an end we could see that we were not going to finish as scheduled. Since we wanted the boys to be able to celebrate New Year's and not spend their entire break working, we decided not to press it because we could finish up over the next few weekends.

Shortly after New Year's Eve Eli started feeling sick. It started out like a cold, but then seemed to turn to the flu. His whole body ached and he was just tired all the time. He spent a few days in bed and was taking some over-the-counter medicines...which is very rare for Eli. He never really started feeling better, but was just pushing himself to get up and finish the project. I would tell him he needed to go see his doctor and he kept telling me he had an appointment scheduled for later in the month.

We were getting SO close to being done, that Eli just kept pushing himself. Monday was Martin Luther King Day & the boys had school off, so the plan was to try and take advantage of the long weekend and finish the project. Friday evening Eli ran out of steam pretty quickly, so mostly he just told the boys how to do stuff. On Saturday, he was able to come down to the couch, but just didn't have any energy and by Sunday he could barely make it down the stairs from our bedroom. He had stayed home from church, but tried to come down for something to eat when the boys I got home. He was so weak that it seemed like he could barely hold his head up, and he was very unsteady on his feet. I tried several times to get him to go to the ER with me, but he kept refusing because he already had a doctors appointment coming soon.

Monday morning I told Eli that I wasn't going to wait for this "doctor's appointment" to come any longer and called his doctor's office. Turns out his doctor was on maternity leave and his appointment was scheduled in three more weeks when she returned! I asked the girl on the phone if there was another doctor or Physician's Assistant that he could see today and we made an appointment for an hour later.

When it was Eli's turn, the nurse brought him back and proceeded to take his vitals. After trying to get his blood pressure and pulse a few times without any luck she asked if she could try the other arm, when that didn't work she went and got the PA. He came in and tried the first arm a few times with no luck and switched arms just like the nurse had done...still no luck. He then sent the nurse to get the EKG machine. When they hooked Eli up they found that his resting heart rate was 156! The PA said he could give Eli medicine to bring the heart rate down and send him home, but because they hadn't been able to find a pulse either he was sending him to the ER (which was across the parking lot) instead. He gave us a printout from the EKG and sent us on our way. When we got to the ER and showed them the test results they hurried us back to a bed and started taking blood and running more tests. While sitting there waiting for the next set of test results, Eli turned to me and said, "Good call."

A short time late, the test results came in and we realized how it was actually a "close call." Eli's blood sugar was off the charts! 1387! That is about 10 times above the normal level! They don't know if the high blood pressure aggravated the sugar or the other way around, but explained that when his heart was beating so fast his blood couldn't circulate like it should so his sugar kicked in to compensate. Then the elevated sugar made the heart rate increase, which then made the sugar increase...and on and on. I really think that if I hadn't made him go to the doctor's he would be in a diabetic coma today.

They have moved him to the Intensive Care Unit and have hooked him up to all kinds of IV's. Until they get his blood sugar down they want to control everything that goes into his body. Hopefully they will be able to get it into control in the next few days and he will be released.