Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Flowers and a tree
Monday October 22nd was our 24th wedding anniversary. John came home from work in the morning with gorgeous flowers. I do love flowers.
I had a quiet stitchy day and Nature's Home Afghan now has a tree. I just need to add a few leaves and a nest, but the tree is growing well.
Tuesday we spent half a day at the hospital, blood tests for John. Only 3 in 3 hours which was better than we thought. His creatinine went down slightly to 196. Mine is 95, pre transplant mine was 65 so the single kidney is doing well. John feels better off of the cholesterol medication, apart from having a head cold. The specialist will phone in a few days with the other test results and let John know if he needs to change any of his medications. All going well we go back to the hospital on November 20th.
This morning we have the airconditioning guy coming to give us a quote on ducted reverse cycle a/c so we don't melt this summer. It will be so nice to have consistent temperature through the house.
Hopefully Friday we can put all the paperwork in with the bank and get some renovations started in November.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Gratitude
Reading my dear friend Kathy's blog this morning reminded me how important it is to focus on the positive in life. Turning 60 Kathy listed 60 things that she is grateful for and her suggestion of a gratitude journal prompted me to think of all things positive I have in my life. I've definitely had some very down times over the past few years and when I think about it things have always been bleakest when I have concentrated on what was wrong in life and forgotten what is so good.
So today, here is my little list of what I am grateful for
1. My husband of almost 24 years who is my best friend and loves me...I know because he tells me every day.
2. My boys who are almost grown, but still admit they love me.
3. My cross stitch which is my great escape from reality
4. My home, old and a renovator's dream, but it is home
5. My long term online friends Kathy and Riet and our weekly chats - how many years we have chatted and they have always been the greatest support for me.
6. The renal transplant team - such talented, caring human beings.
7. Stephen McDonald - renal specialist with great humour and compassion, always makes us laugh.
8. Coffee
9. Chocolate
10. All the Aussie online friends who care about me and show it through messages, calls and even made me a gorgeous quilt.
11.The colour yellow
12. Healthy eyes even though the sight is deteriorating, glasses are great
13.Hot showers
14. Hugs
15. Christmas
16. My bed
17. TV
18. Popcorn
19. Real mail
20. Email
21. Roses
22. Walking
23. The government scheme which heavily subsidises the drugs John needs
24. My quiet time in the mornings
25. Comfy socks
26. Laughing out loud till I cry
27. The smell of freshly cut grass
28. Rain on the roof
29. Freshly baked cookies
30. Birds singing that wakes me every morning
31. Michael Buble songs
32. John Farnham songs
33. Music in general
34. Flowers
35. Chocolate cake
36. My scars from the kidney transplant because they remind me that I did something truly meaningful.
37. My sisters who remember to ring once in a while
38. My brothers, who ring less but are there if I need them.
39. Independence.
40. The best cheese and tomato sandwiches ever at the hospital canteen
41. Going out for breakfast
42. My car
43. Life
So lots to be thankful for. Note Kathy I managed 43 to match my age LOL.
So today, here is my little list of what I am grateful for
1. My husband of almost 24 years who is my best friend and loves me...I know because he tells me every day.
2. My boys who are almost grown, but still admit they love me.
3. My cross stitch which is my great escape from reality
4. My home, old and a renovator's dream, but it is home
5. My long term online friends Kathy and Riet and our weekly chats - how many years we have chatted and they have always been the greatest support for me.
6. The renal transplant team - such talented, caring human beings.
7. Stephen McDonald - renal specialist with great humour and compassion, always makes us laugh.
8. Coffee
9. Chocolate
10. All the Aussie online friends who care about me and show it through messages, calls and even made me a gorgeous quilt.
11.The colour yellow
12. Healthy eyes even though the sight is deteriorating, glasses are great
13.Hot showers
14. Hugs
15. Christmas
16. My bed
17. TV
18. Popcorn
19. Real mail
20. Email
21. Roses
22. Walking
23. The government scheme which heavily subsidises the drugs John needs
24. My quiet time in the mornings
25. Comfy socks
26. Laughing out loud till I cry
27. The smell of freshly cut grass
28. Rain on the roof
29. Freshly baked cookies
30. Birds singing that wakes me every morning
31. Michael Buble songs
32. John Farnham songs
33. Music in general
34. Flowers
35. Chocolate cake
36. My scars from the kidney transplant because they remind me that I did something truly meaningful.
37. My sisters who remember to ring once in a while
38. My brothers, who ring less but are there if I need them.
39. Independence.
40. The best cheese and tomato sandwiches ever at the hospital canteen
41. Going out for breakfast
42. My car
43. Life
So lots to be thankful for. Note Kathy I managed 43 to match my age LOL.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
I have a squirrel
Actually I have a squirrel and some more tree branches, but the tree branch and trunk squares are boring LOL so I'm just showing off the squirrel. I have finished 10 squares now, since there are 30 I am 1/3 of the way there.
John is feeling quite good at the moment, so fingers crossed that it was a problem with one of the medications and stopping it has helped. We'll know more on Tuesday when we have our 'day out' at the hospital.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Me again :)
Back with another stitching update.
I finished Block 6 of Nature's Home Afghan and instead of picking up Fish City again I started on Block 13 LOL. I'll probably actually finish Block 13 today and get back to Fish City soon.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
What a Week
I am so glad it is Saturday and the next week we actually have no appointments, nothing at all booked. Next Saturday is John's 45th birthday so the only thing I have to worry about this week is a gift for him and his birthday dinner. It makes a change from running to appointments every day.
But all in all the week although hectic was ok.
I got lovely mail from Kathy, a split pin from the National Kidney Organisation. One half for John and one for me, mine says "I Gave the Gift of Life" and John's says "I Received the Gift of Life".
You can see them here
http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/honoringPin.cfm
Along with the pins was a gorgeous handmade card and stickers and fridge magnets, shaped like kidneys they say "I Love You With All My Kidney." Too cute.
I also received a Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue that I won.
The boys got a clean bill of health from the orthodontist, the dentist and most importantly Bradley, Justin and Simon are so far free from any sign of polycystic kidney disease.
So what a week, but it was a good week.
But all in all the week although hectic was ok.
I got lovely mail from Kathy, a split pin from the National Kidney Organisation. One half for John and one for me, mine says "I Gave the Gift of Life" and John's says "I Received the Gift of Life".
You can see them here
http://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingDonors/honoringPin.cfm
Along with the pins was a gorgeous handmade card and stickers and fridge magnets, shaped like kidneys they say "I Love You With All My Kidney." Too cute.
I also received a Just Cross Stitch Ornament Issue that I won.
The boys got a clean bill of health from the orthodontist, the dentist and most importantly Bradley, Justin and Simon are so far free from any sign of polycystic kidney disease.
So what a week, but it was a good week.
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Yet another update
Since I last checked in life has been interesting, it always is anyway :)
Shane had his appointment with the neurologist at the Women's and Children's Hospital. She was very thorough and did let us know that he will be at least 6'6" when he is finished growing.
They are not sure what to call his movement apart from a movement disorder. Reluctant to say it is Tourette's because he doesn't have vocal tics and can't control the movements when they happen. People with Tourette's can stop the tics even if only momentarily. So the diagnosis is a movement disorder and not to worry about it unless it bothers him.
I did feel like a bad mother when she asked me when he walked - "Um, I think he was about 14 months, but I really can't remember." Then what was his first word and when did he say it - "Um he was pretty normal." What a bad mum and I still haven't checked his baby book to see when he walked and talked LOL.
It looks like John missed out on the movie he auditioned for because the director wanted to meet him at the same time we were at the hospital with Shane.
Justin and Shane survived the orthodontist. Justin gets his braces off on December 3rd. Shane has another year to go we think.
John and I spent an hour with his renal specialist on Tuesday afternoon. John's creatinine has risen again to 229. Not good news. It has gone up 23 points in 2 weeks. He had an ECG and his heart is fine. Just don;t know what the kidney is up to. So now we are booked in to spend the day at the renal unit on October 23rd, John will have hourly blood tests to check the absorption rate of his drugs. There is still room to tweak the drug regime and hopefully the blood tests will give some idea of what is going on. If his numbers are up again it looks like another biopsy to check for rejection. All of my blood work came back fine, like I told the doctor I don't have time to get sick.
Simon and Shane survived the dentist, just. I was fuming. I had booked them in 6 weeks ago. Last Thursday we got a call confirming the appointments. Just as we were about to leave home Wednesday morning heading to the dentist, the receptionist rang and asked to cancel Simon's appointment because they had double booked. So I said just cancel both and I'll reschedule later. Not impressed but didn't want to make 2 trips to the dentist. Ten minutes later she called back saying that they had a cancellation so I could bring both boys for 10.30 and 11 instead of their original 10 and 10.30 appointments. Fine. So off we went. There was already someone in with the dentist when we arrived and someone in the waiting room. At 10.50 the man in the waiting room was called in. Ok, the dentist was running behind. A lady came in to the waiting room and she got called in ahead of the boys. By then it was almost 11.30. Aargh. So I got up and told the receptionist to cancel both boys appointments, that we didn't plan on waiting until we were slotted in, that she had called and asked us to come in. The receptionist then went in to the dentists room, asked the lady that had gone in to wait and got Simon to go in instead. Totally unprofessional. She told the lady that she was sorry but that she was actually booked in between the boys. Since appointments are scheduled every 30 minutes they had overbooked trying to slot extra patients in for check up and cleaning. It is a nice earner for the dentist as the insurance company pays $137 per patient. Obviously they figured they would double up all day.
While Simon was still in the receptionist asked if I wanted to pay both accounts so I asked if Shane was going in NOW. When the boys finished she asked if we would like a reminder for 6 months time and I said no, we will be finding another dentist.
This was just the straw that broke the camels back, when we took the other boys in for their check up the dentist couldn't find Bradley's records, her notes for me didn't match what I know was done at my last visit. Each time I have been over the past 2 years she has told me something different. So time to find another dentist approved by our medical insurance.
Today I am attempting to get 3 teens up and organised to go to the radiologist for a renal ultrasound. We have to be there by 10am, but they have to drink a litre of water an hour before we get there. So trying to get them all up, showered and watered is going to be fun.
This afternoon I plan to sit and stitch. Once I finish the 6th block of Nature's Home I'll pick up Fish City again.
Shane had his appointment with the neurologist at the Women's and Children's Hospital. She was very thorough and did let us know that he will be at least 6'6" when he is finished growing.
They are not sure what to call his movement apart from a movement disorder. Reluctant to say it is Tourette's because he doesn't have vocal tics and can't control the movements when they happen. People with Tourette's can stop the tics even if only momentarily. So the diagnosis is a movement disorder and not to worry about it unless it bothers him.
I did feel like a bad mother when she asked me when he walked - "Um, I think he was about 14 months, but I really can't remember." Then what was his first word and when did he say it - "Um he was pretty normal." What a bad mum and I still haven't checked his baby book to see when he walked and talked LOL.
It looks like John missed out on the movie he auditioned for because the director wanted to meet him at the same time we were at the hospital with Shane.
Justin and Shane survived the orthodontist. Justin gets his braces off on December 3rd. Shane has another year to go we think.
John and I spent an hour with his renal specialist on Tuesday afternoon. John's creatinine has risen again to 229. Not good news. It has gone up 23 points in 2 weeks. He had an ECG and his heart is fine. Just don;t know what the kidney is up to. So now we are booked in to spend the day at the renal unit on October 23rd, John will have hourly blood tests to check the absorption rate of his drugs. There is still room to tweak the drug regime and hopefully the blood tests will give some idea of what is going on. If his numbers are up again it looks like another biopsy to check for rejection. All of my blood work came back fine, like I told the doctor I don't have time to get sick.
Simon and Shane survived the dentist, just. I was fuming. I had booked them in 6 weeks ago. Last Thursday we got a call confirming the appointments. Just as we were about to leave home Wednesday morning heading to the dentist, the receptionist rang and asked to cancel Simon's appointment because they had double booked. So I said just cancel both and I'll reschedule later. Not impressed but didn't want to make 2 trips to the dentist. Ten minutes later she called back saying that they had a cancellation so I could bring both boys for 10.30 and 11 instead of their original 10 and 10.30 appointments. Fine. So off we went. There was already someone in with the dentist when we arrived and someone in the waiting room. At 10.50 the man in the waiting room was called in. Ok, the dentist was running behind. A lady came in to the waiting room and she got called in ahead of the boys. By then it was almost 11.30. Aargh. So I got up and told the receptionist to cancel both boys appointments, that we didn't plan on waiting until we were slotted in, that she had called and asked us to come in. The receptionist then went in to the dentists room, asked the lady that had gone in to wait and got Simon to go in instead. Totally unprofessional. She told the lady that she was sorry but that she was actually booked in between the boys. Since appointments are scheduled every 30 minutes they had overbooked trying to slot extra patients in for check up and cleaning. It is a nice earner for the dentist as the insurance company pays $137 per patient. Obviously they figured they would double up all day.
While Simon was still in the receptionist asked if I wanted to pay both accounts so I asked if Shane was going in NOW. When the boys finished she asked if we would like a reminder for 6 months time and I said no, we will be finding another dentist.
This was just the straw that broke the camels back, when we took the other boys in for their check up the dentist couldn't find Bradley's records, her notes for me didn't match what I know was done at my last visit. Each time I have been over the past 2 years she has told me something different. So time to find another dentist approved by our medical insurance.
Today I am attempting to get 3 teens up and organised to go to the radiologist for a renal ultrasound. We have to be there by 10am, but they have to drink a litre of water an hour before we get there. So trying to get them all up, showered and watered is going to be fun.
This afternoon I plan to sit and stitch. Once I finish the 6th block of Nature's Home I'll pick up Fish City again.
Monday, October 01, 2007
More Stitchy Stuff
I managed to finish a little Lizzie Kate Christmas piece, what a pain the fuzzy Wisper thread turned out to be.
Still haven't picked Fish City back up as I decided to tackle a few more squares of the Nature's Home Afghan. I am on the 6th square now and apart from the many colour changes it is a fun stitch.
