Tales From an Exhausted Medical Mama

Twas the night before Christmas     When all through the house Not a creature was stirring Not even the adaptive mouse The stockings were hung with care by the chimney A truly awesome fine-motor-skills activity Maybe next year I'll grasp The figurines in the toy holiday nativity? Some children snuggled with weighted blankets in their beds While visions of gluten-free sugar plums danced in their heads And I, decked out in my noise-blocking headphones Had just settled into a very chill zone When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter I grabbed my orthotics to see what was the matter Away to the window I trotted on the floor Tore open the shutters—a range-of-motion score! The moon shined on the snow—dare I tread? Come to think of it, I deserve an adaptive sled! When what to my wondering eyes did appear But an accessible sleigh and eight tiny reindeer With a little old driver, so full of bilateral coordination and quick I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick More rapid t...

365 days around the sun. How can it be an entire year? There have been so many times that your memory has flooded my thoughts. I know the emotions that have accompanied my thoughts and can’t begin to fathom the rollercoaster experienced by others who were with you regularly or who had much more frequent conversations with you than I. My heart breaks a little more for those others, especially your three men and the rest of your family.  The cliche of “time heals” is malarkey. Time passes. Time moves on. Time doesn’t heal. Time passing doesn’t make things easier. Nerp. You are missed. Deeply. It’s apparent in the shared memories, the posts on your Facebook and I’m shouting it myself.  I know you are in heaven happy, oozing “Sarah-tonin” and I am still jealous of you walking the streets of gold (in case you were wondering). I continue to have your family in my prayers.  Don’t forget to save me a seat! 

Photo Courtesy of  Arthritis of the Knee - OrthoInfo - AAOS Today, I had an "an-knee-sthetic". 🤣🤣🤣 Ortho NP: Youuuuuuu have a lot of arthritis in your knee😟and you are bone on bone.  Me: Well, what are you gonna do about it? 🤣 Ortho NP: Welllllll, we can treat with injections and physical therapy initially until those don't work anymore and then we can get you a new one. I can give you a shot today. Me: 😲😲😲😲😲🤔🤔🤔 NP: Or you can come back, and we can do it another day. 🤷‍♀️ Me: No, I am in pain, let's do it today because it's not like I am going to have any less anxiety about it if I come back. NP: It really doesn't hurt, I've had one. Me: Well my friend who has had a double knee replacement said it was the worse thing EVERRRRRRRRRRR and she 'bout levitated off the table. ( Susan! ) NP: I promise, it's not that bad. Let me go get it ready. Me: Ok, but I can't look at that needle, I know it is going to take two of you to carry ...

I am posting updates here on the blog now for a few reasons. The main one being that my neck and shoulders stay tensed, and it causes numbness in my arms, hands and fingers. It makes typing things out on my phone painful and lengthy. It does not bother me to type on my laptop which is how I post updates here. It also allows me to easily go back and search for certain things, unlike on FB.   Our nurse retired at the end of April and despite beginning more than a year in advance to find a replacement or someone PRN, I had no luck. There were a few that were "interested" and a couple who actually followed up but never followed through. I would say I was disappointed, but it has become the norm for the younger generation. A lot of the younger people either have no work ethic or the inability to follow up and say they chose to do something else. They just leave you hanging and that is a huge pet peeve of mine. Please don't give me the "I would love to help you PRN to give...

Nephrology visit was yesterday, Thursday, 9/12 and Karla is happy . 👍 Mini Mayhem's iron supplement had to be increased due to her anemia and one of her anti-rejection meds was decreased due to a slightly elevated level. We will recheck the level here locally in a month.  She had her routine; echocardiogram, it was normal, and she won't need another for 3 years! Then she went for a renal ultrasound. I took a CD of the USs done at LB in July and August for them to compare (as they had requested).  Thankfully, we were worked in to see Urology on the same day and only had to wait two hours. I thought that was pretty ok.   At LB in July, we were told there was hydronephrosis. Hydronephrosis occurs when one or both kidneys swell due to a buildup of urine. One cause of this is a UTI which we know MM has had two, one in July and one in August. When she had the US at LB in August, I was told the hydronephrosis was resolved. Well, guess what.... IT IS NOT RESOLVED . The...

(This is just because I needed to save it somewhere and couldn't find this exact recipe to pin on Pinterest.) Street Corn Chicken Rice Bowl A delicious and flavorful bowl combining zesty marinated chicken, creamy street corn, and cilantro-lime rice. Perfect for a fresh and satisfying meal! Ingredients: For the Chicken: 1.5 lbs (about 4) boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 tablespoons lime juice 2 teaspoons chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon onion powder Salt and black pepper, to taste For the Street Corn: 2 cups corn kernels (fresh, frozen, or canned) 1 tablespoon mayonnaise 1 tablespoon sour cream 1 teaspoon lime juice 1/2 teaspoon chili powder 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional) 1/4 cup cotija cheese or feta, crumbled Fresh cilantro, chopped For the Rice: 2 cups cooked white or brown rice 1 tablespoon lime juice 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped For Toppings (optional): Sliced ...