Final Day of Outpatient Procedure

So Saturday morning I woke up early I had my blood drawn and the lady was kind of scatered so I was worried she would confuse my blood with someone elses.

Dr. Day came in around 7 or 8 and told me she had good news my fever broke during the night and my bile number was down so she would sign my discharge papers for that morning. I was so relieved and happy.

However, she scheduled lab work in Mission Valley Scripps for Tuesday so they could check my numbers and make sure I was on the mend.

I called my sister in law to give her the GREAT news and agreed I would call her when I signed my discharge papers and she would pick me up.

So around 10 ish I called her to let her know I was going to start getting ready to go. I got dressed all by myself yay

She picked me up and that was another adventure the parking area to pick up patients was full and they wouldn't let me go down unless she came up. Then they decided I could go down since the parking lot was full. She was going to park and some employee parked there telling her she would be quick as she had to go to the bathroom. RUDE!!!

I got in the van all by myself and we drove away. Yay!!!

We went to Walgreens to pick up my newest presciption and get gas for the van.

Once I got home I was able to go up the stairs without much pain that was huge!!!

I then had a yummy lunch and a yummier dinner. My sil is so amazing I LOVE her and APPRECIATE her so much.

That night she helped me get in bed so I would be comfortable but honestly it wasn't. I went to bed early and woke up on and off starting at 3 am and finally got up at 6.

Outpatient LOL Procedure Day Two

I woke up on Saturday morning feeling super warm and just tired from all the bp and temp checks throughout the night.

I had some blood drawn around 5:30 in the morning. I don't like needles and I was not happy to be woken up at that time with "Good morning, I am here to draw blood" Really, at 5:30 am not what I want to hear when I am feeling like I am on fire.

So a couple of hours later Dr. Day came in to let me know that my bile number was higher than the night before and I had a fever. So our plan of action was to check my numbers later in the day around noon, if my bile number and temp went down I would be able to go home that evening. If not, then I would have to have an MRI to see if there was a gallstone that had become lose during the removal or if there was leakage in my liver. If they saw anything then they would have to do another procedure.

The morning seemed to drag and I kept napping. Around noon they came to draw blood and the PA Desiree came in around 3. My fever had not broken, it was still slightly up and my bile number still went up a little bit. So she was putting in the orders for an MRI. I wont lie I was upset that I could potentially have another procedure.

Around 3:45 I was wheeled to the MRI area and they gave me something to be calmed as I was inside this tunnel. They asked me what music I wanted to listen to and I seriously said Strangeland by Keane and they looked at me like I was talking a foreign language. So I said country will be fine thank you.

Around 6 I don't recall Desiree came in and said everything looked good but I still had a fever and they were giving me antiviotics thru the IV. I was to stay another night and the next morning my blood wold be drawn to see if my bile number and fever would be down.  If not I would have to have a gastroenterologist do a procedure the next day to see what was wrong.

I was a little upset that this outpatient procedure was just extending to a long event. My sister in law came and brought me a magazine my cell phone and I felt so horrible that I was still in the hospital and knew she was worried.

I had a couple of texts from some dear friends and the search began to find someone to give me a blessing. I received a blessing from my sweet bishop and a friend the sunday before but I just wanted a litle reassurence as things had taken a different direction. BS and SS came to my rescue. I thought of calling BS as I had seem him the night before my procedure and thought he was working that night so I didn't text him. Glad MR or LB did.

That night I think I slept better than the previous night.

Outpatient Procedure Day 1

So Thursday I arrived a bit early to check in for my outpatient procedure to have my gallbladder removed by Dr. Day. I was not nervous and expecting to be out of there by noon that day and back at my place.
I was taken into the operation room and remember an IV being put in my left arm and I didn't recall a thing until I was being wheeled about the hospital to the observation area. I had nausea as we went around corner.. I was the first person in the observation area it consisted of 4 beds and I quickly fell back asleep. I would come in and out and eventually got up to walk and realized i had a huge headache and just wanted to throw up.

As I walked around I kept burping which is a good thing but the taste in my mouth was just horrible. They gave me some drugs for the nausea and I still didn't feel better. As I was walking around my sister in law arrived from running errands to have my place ready for me. She is so good to me!!!

As my situation was not improving my discharge time kept getting postponed. Eventually the PA Desiree Evans came and we made the decision that I should just stay overnight rather than risk my going home and not getting better and having to return to the hospital. I was not happy about this one bit. I had a mixture of feelings from disappointment  of not being an outpatient process to letting my sister in law down. I know that sounds silly but I didn't want to worry her and I just wanted this to be a quick easy process.

So as they wheeled me to my room on the 4th floor around 6 I gave in that it was what it was. I settled into my room and I just slep after they put the IV back in for me to get some fluids.

A Perfect Day

Today I attended my first Angels baseball game of the 2013 season!!!

The game was against the Detroit Tigers and nine runs were earned in the first inning!!! AWESOME!!!

I can honestly say that as soon as we sat in our seats I felt complete happiness as if I was home. I love Angel stadium it is just such a great place and has so many great memories of games I have attended there. The grass was so green and beautiful and the weather was hot but there was a slight breeze to cool us off.

Afterwards we stopped of at SP's new home. SP was my roomie at the manor and she is so much fun!!!

On our way home we stopped at Bon Epi Patisserie Cafe for some macaroons. I wanted to bring some happiness to MR from my trip to the OC today. She introduced me to this yumminess the "Rose Macaroons".

MC then introduced me to the world of Chick-Fil A and it was good; and we then headed home.

My day seemed long but I still had some energy to go on a walk along the Riviera tonight and it felt so good to just be out tonight.

Yes, I am truly grateful and fortunate to have experienced a Perfect Day!!!

Don't mess with my friends

My friends are very self reliant and confident indviduals but a couple of situations have occurred this week and I felt myself gettting into a mama bear mode and very protective over them.

Scenario 1 - If someone ever said anything to a friend of mine something that was rude and uncalled for I would set them straight.

Scenario 2 - If someone was ever making a friend uncomfortable I would ask someone who knew the person better than me to intervene - and if that didn't work I would then let the individual know to back off.

Now I don't think my friends mind or that they would need my help but if they did , I hope they understand that I would be doing this because they are very special to me. I care about them and I don't want to see them hurt or sad.

The moral of this point is - don't mess with my friends or you will see me get on a broom.

With that said I am sure I will probably say a thing or two at one point or another to make them sad or hurt but I hope they would call it to my attention and allow me to apologize and give me another chance.

Choosing our words and comments wisely

Often when we make comments we do not know what the person is struggling with or feeling discouraged about at that time in their life. I think this is even more important when we are talking with individuals who are single wether it is by just never having had the opportunity to marry, divorce or death.

It is hard to be a single woman in a church where marriage is a vital part of our experience while on this Earthly life.

Many of these single friends are amazing, beautiful, caring, deteremined, energetic, faithful, generous, happy, independent, kind, spiritual, successful women. They come from all walks of life and make the most of what life brings to them in challenges and trials.

So when someone says something such as "Why are you not married", "You're such a pretty girl, why don't you date"or "You will make a good wife one day" these words can cut deep into the insecurities we as single women have.

The individual may know why we are not married but maybe they don't want to share or they ask themselves the same question too.

They may not feel confident about their appearance even though they are pretty; maybe they would date but you know men are sometimes not so willing to ask a pretty girl out. Girls who are pretty often do not get asked out - Why? I know the answer I give my nieces - boys are insecure when they are young and like a smart pretty girl. I don't think this insecurity goes away when these boys become men; however, I do think it is worth the risk for a man to ask a woman out.

Most women know they will make a good wife and sometimes hearing that can be painful because they want to be a wife but just have not had an opportunity.

Single women also do not need a sermon on how we should not chase a man down. I think most stable secure women know that while guys like the chase the initiation should start from the man.

So while these comments may seem petty and laughable think twice before you bring someones spirit down. Don't make assumptions or give dating advise unless you are directly asked for the advise.

For the record nobody brought my spirit down with any of those comments but I do have a friend who shared with me some feelings and thoughts that relate to some of these things and assumptions people make.

This person has a heart of gold and for someone to bring her spirit down just made me super sad and inspired me to write my thoughts about this. So I encourage all of us to think twice before we say something that may bring someone down.

If you are talking with someone who is single tread carefully with the dating or lack of dating conversations that eventually lead to asking or making comments of "don't you want to be married" or "why aren't you married" comments.

Deadliest Catch Season 9

So tonight I watched Deadliest Catch for the first time in a couple of years. I first discovered this show when I moved to the Bostonian Manor and PN introduced me to this world.

I was hooked and loved it. I remember her enthusiasm that was so contagious and you couldn't help but want to watch these boys (oh ok men) do their job.

I fell in love with the Time Bandit ok with Captain Andy. He is just I don't know so cool. He is a crab fisherman but he is also a cowboy. Hello, the almost Perfect Man. He cleans up well too.


PN's boat was the Cornelia Marie and her man was Josh.

We even dressed up for Halloween as Crab Fishermen one year...that was so much fun!!!

So as I watched this evening I thought of how we would sit in the living room watching the show and talking. The Manor was a fun place! The ladies were some of the best I have had the opportunity to live with and call friends. I  remember staying up late and going to bed only to stand in the hallway and talk about whatever popped into our minds. Or what about those bike rides to the beach and riding around Seal Beach. Thanks for some great memories and your friendship:MS, PN, SP, EP and WC. PN thank you for introducing me to this world of Deadliest Catch!!!

MS with SLC and EL with Levi....k-i-s-s-i-n-g

So this blog is about two of my friends and the current phase of life they are in which I am enjoying and so happy for them.

EL - I met this lady in the PB ward. She is so kind and always willing and ready to help. I know I say that about a lot of people but I am truly fortunate to have some of the world's finest individuals in my life. So she met Levi and the past six months I have not seen her as much. Do I mind? I will be honest; yes, a little but when I see her we just pick up right where we left off. Besides, I often read her blog and she reads mine and we stay connected and I get to see how much joy Levi brings to her. So that is when I think, yes I miss my EL but I know she is experiencing one of the neatest things anyone of us can experience and that is LoVe!

MS - I met this lady in OC when I moved to the manor. She had so much energy and reminded me of my niece LE. She helped me get adjusted to living in a house with 4 other women. I don't think she realizes that she brought such a positive energy into my life and I looked forward to hearing about her adventures. I was sad when she confided in me that she was moving to Idaho for school but also knew it was something she had thought about and prepared. When I moved to SD she was also back in her hometown of Poway so she can now do my hair every few weeks. I love spending time with her and hearing about her life. Recently she started seeing a man SLC (city he lives in) and this Friday night we met up for dinner. She was so happy and excited...she planned a way to go see him this week. They spent a bit of time together when he was here three weeks ago but she misses him and this trip worked out perfectly.

I don't know what the future holds for these two ladies, but I do know that I enjoy seeing their excitement and happiness as they talk about these men that are in their lives at this time. I hope these men know what amazing beautiful women they have the opportunity to date.

Random thoughts

This is going to be one of those posts where I am just going to write my feelings and what I am thinking these days. Why? Because, I wouldn't dare talk with anyone about them.

I feel as though all of a sudden little things are happening to get me down, discourage me and to just want to throw in the towel. However, I keep praying every morning that I will have the strenght to endure and do my job to the best of my abilities. My current trials may seem like nothing to some but they are huge to me and I am also realizing that they are based on choices I have made so I have nobody to blame but myself. I know I can get down and sad so I am really trying not to do so which is why I am blogging these random thoughts.

1. Memory - lately I can't concentrate or remember things, I lose my thought mid sentence and then I remember. I am forgetting the names of individuals (team members) as I talk to them and or about something and I get frustrated. My memory is something that I have always been good at recalling remembering details about events etc. and often praised about it at work and in my personal life. So you can understand why this is just bugging me out. Today I couldn't remember meeting someone but I remembered very specific details of their business card and as I described it to them they were impressed and said I had a fabulous memory - I was like ok I don't remember meeting you but you are impressed that I remember your business card. Thank you!!

2. I somehow managed to tweak my back. How? Well I decided to clean out my closet and get rid of stuff that I haven't worn or I have excess of that type of clothing. So I pulled boxes and clothing out of my closet and I everything out and my place is an absolute mess. I have a big trash bag of clothing I am going to take to Goodwill or DI container but I also have a messy place and have trouble picking up boxes since Monday morning so I am going to look for a chiropractor pronto.

3. I am so, so grateful for an awesome sil EE is to me. She is going to be here for my surgery and stay until late Saturday night of Sunday morning. The date worked out well with her schedule. EE has known me since I first came to the US I was about 6 and barely spoke any English. She is a great example of what a wife, mother and sister is and I love her for that and all she does for her family and that includes me.

4. MR texted me the other night to check in on me and I seriously just started tearing up. I tell you I have been emotional with this back pain and not knowing about when my surgery will be scheduled. I have so many things I want to do and have to plan around a tight schedule. Anyways, we exchanged texts for a bit. It took me a bit to respond because I don't like to publicly talk about my health issue and it is easier for me to do it via my blog (part of my communication process). However, MR is one of my many friends in SD that is very dear to me. She is caring and giving and always willing to help people; she gets the party started and has really helped me remember that life is about enjoying and living it to the fullest. So I am glad I was able to let her know I was not feeling very happy or positive and if I was being a downer or negative to let me know and give me a good kick. So I hope she knows how much that one test checking in on me meant.

5. I talked to PL the other night and I was so distracted by what I was watching on tv, eating my dinner and then having to take a call from another friend. I miss living with PL she is the greatest roommate anyone could ever have. Sometimes when I am feeling down in the dumps as I have been, I wish we lived together again or that she lived closer. It doesn't help that I didn't get to go to Spring Break this year to visit her so I am unsure as to when I will see her or if we will have the chance to see each other in 2013 and that makes me very sad.

6. After work I went out to grab a bite and beer (h2o for me) at the brewery by our office. My back was in pain but for the couple of hours but Harvey, Frenchie and I were talking about work experiences and then just our lives in general we laughed and just relaxed and I forgot about my pain. I think the highlight of the night was that I said a couple of funny things which is a side they don't get to see in the office and they asked me if I was really drinking h2o. I love that! Harvey is also trying to convince Frenchie to go to the baseball game next week so he wont be the only guy. I think MR may be surprised if Harvey shows up...he did already give me cash for the ticket so I think he is going.

7. I keep listening to my Hilary Weeks CD on my way to and from work. I have even let it play when Harvey is in my car and we go to lunch somewhere. He saw her case and said "she's hot" in a sarcasm tone and I responded "really, well you just have to listen to her music now and just remember she is married".

8. AW is back in town and we have had some really fun e-mails. She is so calming I think she is like my niece NE who just brings you calmness and peace. So grateful for her friendship and encouraging words.

So yeah maybe I felt down in the dumps when I started this post and re wrote it but IU chose the top 5 thoughts, I mean 8 and now I am feeling better. I think listening Hilary's CD has really helped as well as just blogging these thoughts.

Harvesting Day

As my friend MS would call it, April 25 is Harvesting Day for my gallbladder. 
That's all for now.

Weekend Thoughts

So this weekend the topic of conversation kept coming up about blogging. Apparently I am not the only person who thinks this will be a great thing to blog about and then when I am actually blogging I don't think of those great ideas.

Friday night was so entertaining with great basketball games and just laughing with MC. She didn't trash talk too much but she pointed out a new credit union - you know the one we all learned about - FGCU. I love this girl she is just so cool and fun to know.

I was able to spend time with my friend MS who does my hair and had so much fun. She is one of those people that you are just happy being with her and can say anything or nothing and it is all good. We finally made it to the Sizzler in Vista. Now this Sizzler is like no other Sizzler that I have been to. Not that I have been to many but it is nice.

Saturday I went to a fundraiser for a high school for their prom. I was so happy to go but when I heard about some of the issues the administration is creating (primarily the principal) it just broke my heart. I had a wonderful high school experience and amazing senior year and I think all kids should have that given to them by their administration. Unfortunately that is not the case for this school and that just breaks my heart.

Sunday was amazing - the talks and lessons at church were uplifting and motivating and reminded me of all I have to be grateful for in this life.

Easter dinner was at SH's home and the dinner was yummy. Anytime you have asparagus and carrot cake how can you go wrong.

Conversations also revolved around AZ and OC and I kept thinking I kept my promise I didn't move out of the area and I am around for NE's graduation. She is off to college in the fall...should I be off to a new adventure?

I am still feeling as though I am being tested to just give in and I don't know why. Well, I do some people don't want us to succeed in this life. However, I feel as though it has something to do with getting older and negative thoughts entering about how unaccomplished I am and now with this surgery I think how did I get here? I am trying I really am trying to stay up and positive but sometimes it is so hard.

As usual my my weekend was great....which is how I managed to get by today. Today was an absolute trying Monday. I tweaked my back sometime this morning or while I slept and I am in extreme pain something I have not experienced. It hurts to sit and walk and I am sure it will hurt to lie down.

Also Dr. Day's office called apparently they are worried about my BP being a little bit high when I had my consultation. I now need to monitor my BP morning and night for a week and report.