UPDATE

Well hello everyone:

I haven't posted in awhile, it's been a zoo around here. Well they have released me from Tucson, I'm free white and 21 again, LOL, well I have a few stones, but he thinks they will pass. I have been battling an urinary tract infection for 3 weeks now - trying this antiobiotic and this one and I think possibly they may have found one now finally, it is Keflex. I have now taken 6 pills and my pee is looking better, still hurts after, but I'm dealing with it.

Ok, now what is happening now is..................I know I mentioned that we are moving back home to Florida. Well it has been pack pack pack pack pack and more packing. Geez how does a person get so much stuff. We are almost done - 95% I would say. We will be leaving soon, so I will be without the internet for awhile. They don't have where we are going the internet people that we have here, so I don't know who we are going to pick. I'm very excited to get back down there, I can already smell the salty air. And just picturing myself on the beach, geez what else could I want...........Maybe perhaps a house that would be good. We thought we had a couple, but when the inspections went through, they came back really bad. So we decided just to go there and pick them ourselves and we would be able to be there for the inspection and what not. After finding a home we will then have the movers come here and get our stuff and move it down there for us. Then of course comes the un-packing, but I don't think that is as bad as packing. At all!!! We found out today, that a friend of a friend needs someplace to rent and we think we are going to rent to their family. YEAHHHHHH, cuz we can't get what we even paid for this place right now. That way MAYBE in a year or so when the housing market picks back up we could sale and get more for it then we could now. And too this person is a very trustworthy and honest person and that made me and my hubby feel so good.

Our puppies (kids) are doing good, the five days on the road, well my eyes might be crossed by the time we get there (3 puppies), they are not exactly puppies but that is what we call the group of them. We have been putting on their collars and putting out their temporary cages (for the car) and letting them play with them to try to make this transaction better.

Well I think that is all for now. We are temporarily planning on leaving the end of this month. But if the packing gets done earlier we will be leaving then.

Keep up the magnificant work on the cards and stuff that you all are making, I keep checking everyones blogs and they are all fantastic.

Hugs,

Ellen

KIDNEY STONE UPDATE

Well we just got back from Tucson today (8/12/08) from the re-check from my left kidney surgery. I'm good to go. But remembering I still have the stents in both sides. What he would like to do is, for me to go in sometime in September (hopefully the middle of) and go up and crush and suck all the kidney stones that are all ready accumulating on my right side (yep, I already had that side done before my left side and they are growing again) and then take out the stents. He said that would be done as an outpatient (YEAHHH), they will lightly put me to sleep do it and at and at it I will be, HAR HAR......We'll see!!! So that is the update for now.

We are waiting on the inspection papers for our house in Florida, the inspector is really slow and we have to have it before Friday(8/15/08) because that is when our 10 days are up and we don't want to lose the earnest money we put down. So my hubby is on the loose and not making people very happy right now. The inspector has had over a week now and we still don't have the report. I'm trying to think "NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS" but I am beginning to wonder. So tomorrow something will happen, I just don't know what. Keep your fingers crossed.

You all keep making beautiful stuff, as I get the time I go and look at it all and you all still amaze me with your creativity.

Hugs, Ellen

ANNOUCEMENT

Well today is August 1st, 2008. My home health aid nurse came and guess what...........after she scrapped me off the ceiling, she took off my scab and the hole is closed. So that means I can take a SHOWERRRRRRRRR all by myself. YEAHHHHH.......Still can't go swimming in our pool until after I see the surgeon on August 11th. I'm thinking about calling down there and telling him since August 15th is my birthday that he should give me that days office visit for free, do you think he'll agree? LOL So after August 11th, hopefully he is going to take out the stents that I have in both sides now and turn me lose..............Watch out world.

But what have I been doing in the mean time..........resting of course, butttttttt, been doing my exercising like I am suppose to do, and in the beginnning and shoot even right now I am sore and get tired pretty quick but it is getting easier everyday. Well here is the big butttttttt. My hubby and I am decided to move back to where we love it the most and that is FLORIDA. So my exercising in the last couple of days have been going through stuff and packing, keep or putting it in a box for a garage sale. We plan on being down there in 90 days (after 8/11/08 Doctors visit). We are currently looking at a couple of houses. The ARIZONA heat, which I know everyone tells me that it is a dry heat is so bad. Today (well right now it is 114 degrees) it is so hot. Yes it is like walking into an oven, but you can't get out. We use to live in the Hollywood, Florida area and we loved it there, but traveling, it just takes to long to get out of the state of Florida, so we agree to go on the other coast (West) and go 1/2 down, where it doesn't get to cold but yet it is warm. So we have decided on the St. Petes/Seminole/Tampa area. We really prefer Seminole, but you know how things go. I know, you are probably thinking but it is so humid there. But after living on the beach, you always have a breeze from the beach and with the humidity, yes you sweat but the breeze cools you right off. So we are excited but yet busy.

It just seemed I got my scrapbook room all organized and now I have to pack it all up. :( But we will be much happier there and I know it.

Well that is all I have for now. You all take care and I am back on here everyday checking to see what you all are creating and it looks like you all are doing a GREAT job, keep it up.

UPDATE

Well first of all, I want to THANK YOU for all the comments, cards and phone calls, that I have gotten through all of my recent surgeries. THANK YOU EVERYONE...I love the cards especially!!!

Ok, my last surgery was July 10th and it went really well. They pulled out the tube (it's like a catheter) from my back and I now have a hole in my back. They don't stitch it shut! It has to heal from the inside out. So a Home Health Agency is coming in once a week now and checking the wound site and my hubby does the daily dressing changes (thank heaven I have him). He keeps saying that he is going to send me a bill and we joke around about it quite a bit, but you have to make fun some way and that is how we are doing it. Then a aid comes in 2 times a week and helps me with a bath which is so wonderful. It is so very hot here in Phoenix you sweat like a pig and then the bandage falls off, so then my male nurse (husband) comes to my rescue again. I go back to the doctor on August 11th to see what he thinks, remembering that I have stents in both of my kidneys. I won't let him forget that. I am still weak and sore but am improving everyday now. YEAHHHHHH, but boy ole boy do I get tired quick. I was able to wash some dishes yesterday and did some exercising while at the sink. The one thing that I am having problems with now is shortness of breathe. When the nurse was here yesterday I had her listen to my lungs and she said they sound good. So she just suggested as I walk or sit take some really deep breathes so I am working on that now, but the thing of it is, is that my stomach muscle are sore from having my surgery. But hey I'm working on it.

I just wanted to get online and give an update.

You all keep making pretty stuff.............I'll be checking back as often as I can to see what everyone is doing.

Happy Day to all.

Love and miss you...........Ellen

ROUND TWO

Well we leave here this Wednesday (7/9/08) for my second surgery which is on Thursday (7/10/08), have to be there at 530am so that means I am first up to bat. YEAHHHHH! Last time I had to be there at 630am and I just sit on the bed until about 10am waiting on them to do whatever they had to do.

Ok, so let me update you on my last one. The surgery went purdy good. But the new medicine that my nephrologist put me on to stop the kidney stones from forming made me have something wrong with my heart. IT made my potassium go DANGEROUSLY high in the middle of the night and I had to sit up and drink this really nasty stuff twice. So six wonderful jugs of it. Well they forgot to tell me one thing....LOL, It give you diaherria.........OOPS........So once that hits I'm on the toilet taking care of business for six hours........... So needless to say my hubby went back to the motel and slept. While I was taking care of that business. Well they discharged me on June 26th in the pm and we came home, boy ole boy that car trip was something else. Phewww I was glad to be home. Well this catheter that I have coming out of my back is way different then the last one I had and I DO NOT like it. I have had to take a perocet just about everyday this time and last time I didn't ...........I hate to have to rely on them suckers, cuz even though I am here, my brain isn't and neither is my talking. The catheter coming out of my back is not was is hurting me, yes it does hurt but I have ALOOOOTTTTT of kidney stones in my bladder and since I am not peeing, guess what? They have decided to stay for a duration. Everytime and I mean everytime I move, those little suckers do to and well just let's say it makes you grit your teeth and curse and even makes my face makes funny faces and sweat oh heavens do I sweat. My BESTEST HUBBY in the whole wide world in the fill in nurse, he changes my bandaid's at leat 4 times a day. the home health nurses can only come out twice a week and that is not nearly enough. Oh well enough of this. I just wanted to let you know what is going on. And my second round is this coming Thursday and I am so ready for it. I am so tired of hurting, I can't even think right. So once again please pray for me again. Think happy thoughts on thursday, so I can get what I want done, LOL.........

Take care & I Love you...........Ellen

TUCSON BOUND

Well tomorrow (6/23/08) we are off to Tucson. SIGGHHHHHH. I have my surgery on 6/24/08 - I have to be there at 630am. They will insert a guide wire through my back and into my kidney. That is for the urologist which is the surgeon. They can then go down over the guide wire and go directly to my kidney and do their work. I'm hoping and praying that they will be able to get most of the stones out, but, I have to keep in the back of my mind that - that might not happen either. When I awake I will have a catheter coming out of my back - it is like a regular catheter, but it comes out of my back. They will leave this in, so in 2 weeks I'll go back again and do this all over again, until they get all these babies out of there. All through this I will be homebound and have a RN come into my house 2-3 a week and a bath lady also, she'll come 2-3 week also. I can't take a shower or bath, so she assists me getting cleaned up. I can't wash around the area, so she does it. But with the weather being like it is right now, I'm going to have to do something, cuz you HAVE to take a shower everyday cuz it is so hot. We have been averaging 115 degrees everyday for over a week now and there is no break coming either. Being at home all the time is very depressing but with all the support that I have it's ok. You get to missing going out and doing stuff, even if it is a ride in the car. (just try to ride in a car with a tube coming out of your back, believe me, it's hard) Last time, when we were coming home I leaned over and laid my head on the dashboard that is the most comfortable spot I could find. But the weather was way different then. Right now if I would do that I would be BEET red, cuz of the heat. So we'll see what will happen when I get home. So anyway, please think of me on Tuesday as I am very nervous. Pray for me too please!

I love each and everyone of you.............take care and I'll keep you updated. Hopefully when I get on my feet I'll be able to come on and see what everyone has been up to.

XOXO-------Ellen

YARD SALE (6/14/08)

We went garage sale-ing on Saturday and I almost died and thought I went to Heaven. LOL 2 garage sales with scrapbooking stuff. And the main stuff was scrapbooking. Well thanks to my hubby we got an early start and was about the first ones there. So I ended up getting some sizzix sizzlet empty containers for storage for $2.00 each. I got some stamps for $1.00 and some of them were $.25 cents. WOO HOO.......It was a stampin' up consultant and a close to my heart consultant, just trying to clean out some stuff. The other garage sale I got these 2 plastic paint buckets, full and never been opened with stuff that you can make out of foam. Well I really don't like what I call foamies (foam pieces) but I thought, hey why couldn't I take the pattern off of them and make the stuff out of paper.......MMMM pretty cleaver Ideal I thought. Well I got both of them for $3.00. Each can has 4 different projects in them. So I got 8 new ideals for $3.00. YEAHHHHHH And of course, they had plenty of stickers and papers at each one of them, but I am a paper HOG.....and have to much here at home, so I didn't even look at the paper, out of sight out of mind, right????? Well I was able to pull it off in my mind anyone. LOL Anyway thought I would share on that note. Take care.........xoxo