One step closer...

Well, as I said last week.. I am one step closer to getting on with my life.  I have some goals... like losing some weight, and getting in a regular routine. 

Mathie is still with me, but I can see the decline.  It is amazing... she is like a baby.  She gets tired and cranky, so I bring her upstairs, and lay her down on the guest bed with her for a few minutes and she falls off to sleep for about 3 or 4 hours.  Pretty amazing really.

Here is the whole door!

There it is... who would have thought?

Friday we were going to take Mathie and Schatzie for a walk, and found that the garage door wouldn't open.  Called a repairman, come to fine out the spring (man this was some spring... ) was broken, in fact both springs, so they were replaced.  To the tune of almost $500.00.  UNBELIEVABLE!!!  The good thing is that it has a 5 year guarantee, which is as long as we are in this house.  They were here at 7:40 Saturday AM, and the door was going up by 8:00 AM.

Then a friend took Mom and I to the beauty parlor, for Mom.  Once we got home, George took us to Petsmart to get Schatzies diabetic food, and then home.  After that I was baking and fixing dinner.  I made Cheddar Bay Biscuits... (yes the kind you get at Red Lobster) and Black and White Brownies. Then I made dinner.  Tilapia, yellow rice, and green beans. 

Gave Schatzie her insulin shot, and we were on our way to friends house for game night...Cranium.  All in all in was fun, but we were out till after midnight...and I just can't pull those all nighters anymore.

It also put the quash on any thoughts of a super bowl party at our house.

So... on with the next phase in my life.  I will keep everyone posted.

The Letter Came Yesterday...

Well I got my letter in the mail, and I have been approved for Disability.  I thought that was going to be the big battle, how ever it was the "other" stuff that was a real struggle for me.  Now let me tell you, it wouldn't have in the past, and after 5 hours of struggling with phone calls and computer, and people, I finally decided to sit down and heat up some left overs for dinner, and relax.  But at this point, I was absolutely exhausted.  I hadn't eaten lunch, I was dizzy, I mean real dizzy.  So, it was once again confirmed to me that I  am not capable of going back to work.  I could barely handle this whole mess without having a melt down, and if it wasn't for George coming up stairs and concentrating on the computer, I would probably have thrown the monitor or the key board, and folder that was about 1 inch think with papers across the room. 

In fact just heating up a can of Progresso Chickarina soup was a chore for me.

But, I can say today, that I am a little bit closer to finishing up this mess today... or finishing up as much as I can.

New Doctor...

I went to a new Neurosurgeon on Monday... Dr. Max Medary.  Best thing I ever did.  I am not sure if you remember but the last doctor (Neurosurgeon) made a complete 180 degree turn around when I went to see him.  There are a few reasons why he would have done that: 

1. He is a Neurosurgeon, and unless he is going to operate, they really don't want to see you.  However he was roped, simply by his misfortune, into saying that I was not able to work.
2. He suggested GKS (Gamma Knife Surgery), which is his deal.  However it is not a suggested fix for Cavernous Angioma's.  
3. GKS is an easy $30,000 for a Neurosurgeon.  Let me tell you that even if my application for SS Disability is approved, I wouldn't get half that much money in one year! 

So.... if any of those reasons were the reason for him to make a 180 degree turn around in his opinion, he isn't much of a doctor in my opinion...  But what do I know right?

This doctor said that with the best intentions, anyone who did surgery on me right now would hurt me.  They would cause me to end up with more problems than before the surgery.

So, that is the story.  I so liked this guy, so much so that I am now going to stop any consideration of going to Phoenix to see Dr. Spetzler.

It isn't often that I feel so totally and completely satisfied by a doctor.  As a matter of fact, there are probably only 4 doctors in my lifetime that I could say that about.  The unfortunate part is that one moved to NC, and one retired.  That is not including my dentist by the way.  So I guess you could say 5 doctors.  But that is my entire lifetime.  Believe me I had to kiss a lot of frogs to find those 5. 

However only one of those frogs wanted to point radiation at a spot in my brain, in a very "eloquent" location, just because he didn't want to say I was disabled, or, just because he needed a quick 30 grand, or, especially because he didn't want me coming back.

Someone who reads my blog told me that they had fired a lot of Doctors, who were supposed to be experts or specialists.  I can truly understand that.  I had my doubts that I would ever find someone who looked out for me, and not what the ledger book said at the end of the day. 

Well, on to the next adventure.  Who knows what that will be, or where it will lead me.  Right now I am just glad to have found someone who will care for me if and when the time ever comes that I need a knowledgeable Doctor on my side.  Maybe that day will never come.  That would be the best case scenario.  However, I will not keep my head in the sand about this.

Wesley and Linda Chappetto

This video was taken a few years back.  We had a bunch of friends over, and Wesley managed to get up on the couch, and on Carmela's lap, and behind Linda's head so that he could be scratched, and well basically to be as close to Linda as he could.  He was loving every minute of the attention he was getting too....

Happy New Year...!!

Well I know it has been a while since I posted anything...  A lot has been going on.  Let me start by saying my friend "Girl with a Pearl Size Angioma" sent me a necklace that she made.. which makes it extra special, in return for the buttons for her P-Coat.  I have been wanting George to take a picture of me with it on, and that will still come, as soon as I can.  This holiday has been special, and it has also been sad.  I have made some new friends that I look forward to hearing from, and who I can count on being there when I need an ear, we had a visit from family in NY, and with that came the promising news that "C" might be getting a scholarship to Flagler College for Baseball.  I received a call yesterday that my LTD from my job was approved, so the first part of the puzzle is somewhat solved.  The sad news came on Sunday.  Our dog Wesley (pictured in this post) passed.  It was sudden, and in fact in this picture he already had the the mass that caused him not to be able to breath.  We had taken him to the vet because he wasn't eating, and something wasn't right.  The vet heard a slight heart murmur, and decided to do x-rays... which at first glance didn't show any problem.  Now keep in mind this was the holiday weekend, and for the most part Wesley was doing fine.  Short of not wanting to eat much, he was doing fine.  Until Saturday, and Sunday.  That is when the breathing difficulty started.  So we took him to the emergency vet, and called our vet on his cell phone.  While at the clinic, which at first thought, was under the impression he was having congestive heart failure, which relieved us since that can be addressed with medication for a while before any decisions have to be made, our vet called us back, and immediately called the Doctor on call at the Emerg. Clinic.  Unbeknown to us, he had the x-rays taken two day before looked at by a specialist, and found that there was a huge mass in one of Wesley's lungs, which now had fluid collecting.  Since Wesley was not in any distress at that point, the vet didn't feel if was necessary to ruin our holiday weekend, and he could talk to us on Monday, so we could make a decision. 

At this point, we knew we had to make a decision.  George couldn't stay with Wesley when he was put to sleep.  He went to say goodbye to him in the treatment area, and he just broke down.  It was so sad, and since his stroke, he has very little control over his emotions... and this was one of those times.  So he waited in the car, while I sat with Wesley in the exam room... and talked to him, and hugged him, and cried.  It was very hard, and the thought that we wouldn't be bringing him home that day was hard to handle, even as I write this today. 

The doctor came in and the both of us kept telling Wesley what a good boy he was, until he no longer had any trouble breathing.  Somehow that didn't make it any easier for me to say goodbye.

We had him cremated privately, and he will be in an urn by all the other special members of our family.  That probably sounds weird, and maybe it is... but somehow, it makes me feel better to know that he is still close by.  He will always be in our hearts and minds, and even on this blog.