My Uncle Don went to the hospital on Thursday. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and sepsis and has been sedated since Friday. He's been in ICU and was given a 50/50 chance. On Christmas the doctors were uncertain if it had in fact been pneumonia or if it was RSV. The non-answers and wishy-washiness gives me dejavu from when my Grandpa Ace was in the hospital. Are doctors really that clueless? I'm uncertain what changed today, but he was updated to critical, but guarded. While others have been visiting him in the hospital, I have not. There are a lot of contagious things, especially in ICU and I do not want to expose my immune system. My Grandma Ace came down with a cough today, which is how my Uncle's health issues started (Don lives with Grandma Ace), so now I can't even visit my Grandma. I think my dad is going to take her to the doctor in the morning to make sure it's nothing more than a common cold. It really is a messy situation and it has been understandably hard on my Grandma Ace. I feel helpless, but as selfish as it is I cannot risk my good health.
Since I got off work early on Friday, I stopped by my Grandma Ace's house to visit her and see how she was doing. Strangely enough, I woke up barfing Friday Night into Saturday morning. Now, it could be totally unrelated to the health of my Uncle and now my Grandma's possible health issues, but it freaked me out. I felt so bad that I completely skipped my run that I was supposed to lead. I didn't bring my phone with me when I moved to the couch to sleep after barfing the first time. When I woke up, I had lots of missed calls and messages from my running group. Not only did I feel terrible from vomiting and being sick to my stomach (I'm not pregnant), I also felt terrible for missing the run and leaving everyone out of the loop. My group was understanding and my ugly stepsister proved to be a great friend by calling and messaging to check up on me throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. It's great when new friends genuinely care about you.
Thankfully, I am feeling better and my Uncle Don is stilling hanging on! This Christmas was anything but normal. We are hopeful that Uncle Don will keep improving slowly.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Monday, December 26, 2016
Thursday, December 22, 2016
"I Don't Care About the Presents Underneath the Christmas Tree"
To quote Mariah Carey: "I Don't Care About the Presents Underneath [the my] Christmas Tree."
I had a very humbling experience volunteering at XL106.7's Baby DJ program with my Ugly Stepsister and her Sprint team last night. Baby DJ collects toys for kids, and then invites people unable to provide Christmas for their families to come to the toy warehouse to "shop" for free toys for their children. The parents are allowed to pick up to three toys per child. We helped over 700 children last night alone in our community! It really made me count my blessings and I plan to volunteer again next year.
Begin rant:
Now that I'm an adult, my days in believing in Santa are long behind me. I don't have a Christmas list, nor do I expect anything for Christmas. Let's be honest...If I want something, I'll buy it for myself. (i.e. an electric keyboard). For me, Christmas tends to be about the obligation of buying presents and it bothers me because that is not what I want Christmas to be about. I feel a little guilty for feeling obligated to buy gifts for others. After all, 'tis the season for giving. However, I'd rather donate my time and spend my money on those less fortunate than my family and friends. Except for a couple of people (3), I don't feel good about getting family and friends gifts because most of the time it just feels like something I have to do since they get me presents. I'm giving a lot of fucking gift cards this year because I'm just not into it. (is it wrong that my heart just isn't into it?) It's different if I get something that I think someone will love and don't expect anything in return (umm...isn't that the kind of giving we should be doing?) I want Christmas to be about enjoying time with friends and family and sending good wishes to those away from home with a card or a phone call. I want Christmas to be about helping those less fortunate than me. It's too late to save my Christmas, but I am going to make sure next Christmas will be the Christmas I want, which means having a lot of difficult conversations with people who will likely be disappointed. There's more to life, there's more to Christmas than gifts!
End rant!
I had a very humbling experience volunteering at XL106.7's Baby DJ program with my Ugly Stepsister and her Sprint team last night. Baby DJ collects toys for kids, and then invites people unable to provide Christmas for their families to come to the toy warehouse to "shop" for free toys for their children. The parents are allowed to pick up to three toys per child. We helped over 700 children last night alone in our community! It really made me count my blessings and I plan to volunteer again next year.
Begin rant:
Now that I'm an adult, my days in believing in Santa are long behind me. I don't have a Christmas list, nor do I expect anything for Christmas. Let's be honest...If I want something, I'll buy it for myself. (i.e. an electric keyboard). For me, Christmas tends to be about the obligation of buying presents and it bothers me because that is not what I want Christmas to be about. I feel a little guilty for feeling obligated to buy gifts for others. After all, 'tis the season for giving. However, I'd rather donate my time and spend my money on those less fortunate than my family and friends. Except for a couple of people (3), I don't feel good about getting family and friends gifts because most of the time it just feels like something I have to do since they get me presents. I'm giving a lot of fucking gift cards this year because I'm just not into it. (is it wrong that my heart just isn't into it?) It's different if I get something that I think someone will love and don't expect anything in return (umm...isn't that the kind of giving we should be doing?) I want Christmas to be about enjoying time with friends and family and sending good wishes to those away from home with a card or a phone call. I want Christmas to be about helping those less fortunate than me. It's too late to save my Christmas, but I am going to make sure next Christmas will be the Christmas I want, which means having a lot of difficult conversations with people who will likely be disappointed. There's more to life, there's more to Christmas than gifts!
End rant!
Thursday, January 8, 2015
The Texas Incident
... Continued
Once I began vomiting in the early morning on Saturday, December 27th my stomach kept telling me I had to poop every hour, but I could not find relief. I sat on the toilet and vomited in the trash can. That's how I spent most of the day on Saturday when I wasn't lying in bed with a heat pad on my belly. Veronica convinced me to call my parents and tell them what was going on. I didn't want to freak them out, so I tried to down play how horrible I really felt. My mom immediately offered to drive to come pick me up, but I thought I could wait it out and be better by my flight Monday morning. I was wrong!
Saturday night came around and the vomiting had stopped, but I still couldn't poop. I decided to take three pills of Veronica's mom's laxatives in hopes that my belly could find some relief. Sunday morning around 7am I began vomiting again. At this point, I hadn't eaten anything since Friday night, so it was just liquid coming up. I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time before my body was waking me up because it thought I had to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't get anything out. Around 9am on Sunday I was finally able to poop. At first, beautiful turds filled the toilet; however, each time I went running to the bathroom my bowel movements became looser and looser until I could no longer control them. I pooped my pants twice because I couldn't make it to the bathroom fast enough. I wasn't even embarrassed. Just disappointed with my body. I called my parents at 11:45am Texas time to ask my mom to come get me because I knew I couldn't fly on a plane while having uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting my brains out.
My mom and Kim left to come get me and I tried to gain some control of my pipes. I spent most of the day sitting on the toilet to avoid more messes. We had family friends visiting Houston that were kind enough to meet my friend Veronica halfway between Houston and Austin to pick me up so that my mom would have a shorter drive. Veronica was a life saver. She packed my bags and got me ready for the car ride. We left Veronica's house at 4pm and I arrived at the Tous' hotel in Houston by 8pm. The car ride was extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully, I didn't vomit nor poo my pants. I was grateful the Tous had a suite and they gave me my own bathroom close to a bed. The last time I vomited was at Veronica's house. At this point, I was still shitting every few hours, but I hadn't had a mess since Veronica's house.
At 3am, mom and Kim arrived at the hotel. I put on the depends my mom brought as well as some comfy clothes. We thanked the Tous and left. While walking out of the hotel I could smell the staff cooking the continental breakfast, which made me dry heave and gag once I got outside. I slept in the car the best I could even though bumpy roads made my stomach uneasy. We stopped at most of the rest stops along I-10 East (when the GPS said I-10 East, I swear she was saying "I titties."). Mom and Kim alternated driving and resting. We made a pit stop at the Russo's, our friends in Alabama. We got there around 11:30am. They fed me crackers and ginger ale. I showered and took bath, which I followed with a two hour nap. It was nice to finally see them after 20 years. I want to visit them again when I'm healthy because they are so much fun! We left the Russo's around 4pm.
After leaving the Russo's, we went through a Chick-fil-a drive-thru. We pulled over in a Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot to eat. I took two bites of soup and then I shit myself in the backseat of the car. Thankfully, the adult diaper did its job and contained the mess. Mom went in with me to BB&B to help me clean up my mess and put on a clean diaper. My mom is a trooper! Once that was cleaned up we hit the road because I gave up on eating anything until I got home. Mom and Kim drove through the night making a few pit stops for me before we finally made it home early morning on Tuesday, December 30th.
I'm so very thankful to everyone that helped to get me home and everyone that took care of me when I struggled to care for myself. I'm grateful for all my friends that prayed for me. I'm crying just thinking about how much I am loved and cared for. Although I grieve for my independence during times like this, time has proven that I will get back up and find it again.
I lost 18 pounds during this whole ordeal. I dropped to 132lbs and I seem to be stuck there. When I look at my naked body in the mirror I see an extremely thin and toned physique that most women would envy. However, I feel very weak. I want to regain my strength and weight because this body image to me is one of illness, not health. While I'm stuck listening to how lucky I am that I can lose weight so easily and listening to everyone's new year's resolution to lose weight I am secretly fuming inside.
Once I began vomiting in the early morning on Saturday, December 27th my stomach kept telling me I had to poop every hour, but I could not find relief. I sat on the toilet and vomited in the trash can. That's how I spent most of the day on Saturday when I wasn't lying in bed with a heat pad on my belly. Veronica convinced me to call my parents and tell them what was going on. I didn't want to freak them out, so I tried to down play how horrible I really felt. My mom immediately offered to drive to come pick me up, but I thought I could wait it out and be better by my flight Monday morning. I was wrong!
Saturday night came around and the vomiting had stopped, but I still couldn't poop. I decided to take three pills of Veronica's mom's laxatives in hopes that my belly could find some relief. Sunday morning around 7am I began vomiting again. At this point, I hadn't eaten anything since Friday night, so it was just liquid coming up. I didn't sleep for more than an hour at a time before my body was waking me up because it thought I had to go to the bathroom, but I couldn't get anything out. Around 9am on Sunday I was finally able to poop. At first, beautiful turds filled the toilet; however, each time I went running to the bathroom my bowel movements became looser and looser until I could no longer control them. I pooped my pants twice because I couldn't make it to the bathroom fast enough. I wasn't even embarrassed. Just disappointed with my body. I called my parents at 11:45am Texas time to ask my mom to come get me because I knew I couldn't fly on a plane while having uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting my brains out.
My mom and Kim left to come get me and I tried to gain some control of my pipes. I spent most of the day sitting on the toilet to avoid more messes. We had family friends visiting Houston that were kind enough to meet my friend Veronica halfway between Houston and Austin to pick me up so that my mom would have a shorter drive. Veronica was a life saver. She packed my bags and got me ready for the car ride. We left Veronica's house at 4pm and I arrived at the Tous' hotel in Houston by 8pm. The car ride was extremely uncomfortable. Thankfully, I didn't vomit nor poo my pants. I was grateful the Tous had a suite and they gave me my own bathroom close to a bed. The last time I vomited was at Veronica's house. At this point, I was still shitting every few hours, but I hadn't had a mess since Veronica's house.
At 3am, mom and Kim arrived at the hotel. I put on the depends my mom brought as well as some comfy clothes. We thanked the Tous and left. While walking out of the hotel I could smell the staff cooking the continental breakfast, which made me dry heave and gag once I got outside. I slept in the car the best I could even though bumpy roads made my stomach uneasy. We stopped at most of the rest stops along I-10 East (when the GPS said I-10 East, I swear she was saying "I titties."). Mom and Kim alternated driving and resting. We made a pit stop at the Russo's, our friends in Alabama. We got there around 11:30am. They fed me crackers and ginger ale. I showered and took bath, which I followed with a two hour nap. It was nice to finally see them after 20 years. I want to visit them again when I'm healthy because they are so much fun! We left the Russo's around 4pm.
After leaving the Russo's, we went through a Chick-fil-a drive-thru. We pulled over in a Bed Bath & Beyond parking lot to eat. I took two bites of soup and then I shit myself in the backseat of the car. Thankfully, the adult diaper did its job and contained the mess. Mom went in with me to BB&B to help me clean up my mess and put on a clean diaper. My mom is a trooper! Once that was cleaned up we hit the road because I gave up on eating anything until I got home. Mom and Kim drove through the night making a few pit stops for me before we finally made it home early morning on Tuesday, December 30th.
I'm so very thankful to everyone that helped to get me home and everyone that took care of me when I struggled to care for myself. I'm grateful for all my friends that prayed for me. I'm crying just thinking about how much I am loved and cared for. Although I grieve for my independence during times like this, time has proven that I will get back up and find it again.
I lost 18 pounds during this whole ordeal. I dropped to 132lbs and I seem to be stuck there. When I look at my naked body in the mirror I see an extremely thin and toned physique that most women would envy. However, I feel very weak. I want to regain my strength and weight because this body image to me is one of illness, not health. While I'm stuck listening to how lucky I am that I can lose weight so easily and listening to everyone's new year's resolution to lose weight I am secretly fuming inside.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Christmas with Veronica
I arrived in Austin at lunch time on Christmas Eve. As soon as Veronica and her mom picked me up from the airport we headed to get some amazing Texas BBQ for lunch. We shared a delicious portion of tender brisket, smoked chicken, and juicy sausage links. It was absolutely wonderful! Following lunch we explored a gas station called Buckees. It had over 30 gas pumps and inside it was like an enormous Wawa. We walked around tried a sample of pecan pie. YUM! On the way to Veroncia's house, we stopped at a little pecan store on the side of the road because there was a huge squirrel outside that I wanted my picture with. Inside I bought underpants bandages. "Dress your wounds with tighty-whities!"
Once we got home, we got ready to go celebrate Christmas with Veronica's extended family. I think I met over 30 people at her cousin's house. The food was awesome! Plus, it was great to meet so many people in her family. On the way home, we stopped by a huge Christmas tree made of lights. We twirled under tree at midnight, which was magical! By the time we got back home, I was exhausted, but I gave Veronica her gifts before we went to bed.
On Christmas, we went to Ihop for breakfast and then we explored Austin. It was perfect because the streets were empty! We had the city to ourselves. We even went on a little hike.
The day after Christmas, we relaxed at the house in the morning before getting some more Texas BBQ for lunch. After lunch, we went wine tasting at a place called Water 2 Wine. We bought some wine of our own and a bottle to share at our painting with a twist later that night. After wine tasting we went back home to relax before going to paint. The painting with a twist was so much fun! The instructor was great and funny. "If you make a mistake, drink some more wine until you like it."
We went to In-N-Out on our way home, which was fun because Veronica had never been before. By the time we got home, I was tired and went to bed.
3am Saturday, December 27th I woke up vomiting.... to be continued.
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| A pic of the three of us after we filled up on BBQ! |
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| Squirrel! |
Once we got home, we got ready to go celebrate Christmas with Veronica's extended family. I think I met over 30 people at her cousin's house. The food was awesome! Plus, it was great to meet so many people in her family. On the way home, we stopped by a huge Christmas tree made of lights. We twirled under tree at midnight, which was magical! By the time we got back home, I was exhausted, but I gave Veronica her gifts before we went to bed.
On Christmas, we went to Ihop for breakfast and then we explored Austin. It was perfect because the streets were empty! We had the city to ourselves. We even went on a little hike.
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| Austin, Texas |
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| The view from our hike |
After we finished exploring, we stopped by a family friend's house to drop off gifts and celebrate Christmas. When we returned home, we watched my favorite Christmas movie 'Surviving Christmas' before going to bed.
The day after Christmas, we relaxed at the house in the morning before getting some more Texas BBQ for lunch. After lunch, we went wine tasting at a place called Water 2 Wine. We bought some wine of our own and a bottle to share at our painting with a twist later that night. After wine tasting we went back home to relax before going to paint. The painting with a twist was so much fun! The instructor was great and funny. "If you make a mistake, drink some more wine until you like it."
We went to In-N-Out on our way home, which was fun because Veronica had never been before. By the time we got home, I was tired and went to bed.
3am Saturday, December 27th I woke up vomiting.... to be continued.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
All I Want for Christmas is to Poop
I've been afflicted with constipation again. Tomorrow will be two weeks since I've had a relieving bowel movement. Honestly, I've been so busy with work, my trip to Taylor's, a Disney adventure this weekend to properly deal with it because I haven't really been home long enough to where I can safely take laxatives. I barfed a few times last Tuesday and again on Sunday. I think it was because my belly wasn't digesting my food quick enough for it to have room to go all the way down. I've mostly only been eating one meal a day since Thursday because if I eat more, I don't feel well. My stomach is in such discomfort and even my anus and rectum are giving me false BM alarms. I drank a mug of warm prune juice this morning, but so far no luck. I'm going to drink another mug of warm prune juice before I go to bed tonight. I have a morning flight to Texas, but I'm desperate. If I have to shit on the plane, so be it. I warned my friend, Veronica that I'm bringing laxatives with me. I hate the feeling of having to poop, but not being able to relieve it. It's so bad that I'm wishing for an early period to shake my pipes up a bit.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Christmas with Taylor 2014
After work on Friday, I drove down to visit Taylor and celebrate Christmas. Damn, I missed that girl! We wasted no time in opening up some wine and opening our gifts from each other. Oh, and I passed our friendship turd back to her. After adding something to it, of course. I think the red button looks great!We talked for another hour, and then Kenny, Taylor, and I went to P.F. Chang's for dinner. We are two very classy ladies, so it should be no surprise that we took advantage of the chopsticks and became walruses for a photo op.
I left around 6am for a 9 mile run. Even though I had a paper with turn by turn directions with me, I still had no idea where I was because I'm not familiar with the area. It was a great run. I ran 9 miles in Sunrise, Florida, on Sunrise Blvd as the sun was rising, so that was kind of special. Kenny had already left for work by the time I got back and Taylor was already up getting ready, so I didn't get any extra sleep. After I took a shower, Taylor and I went to a flea market she wanted to check out. We followed the flea market with lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, which was my first time there. It was delicious! We took our cheesecakes to go and ate them at her place before we left for the Phillips, Craig, and Dean concert.
We took a great photo by a Christmas tree before the concert.
When the show ended, we went back to Taylor's place and recreated a selfie we found on Pinterest. It was outrageous and hilarious. Memories were most certainly made while trying to recreate it. After that nonsense, we went to bed.
We slept in Sunday morning, and went to Publix for some baking supplies before going to church at 1pm. After church we went ice skating! I had forgotten how much I love to ice skate. It was great fun. Once we made it back to Taylor's place, we did some baking and took some selfies while we waited for things to bake. Once we finished baking, selfie taking, and listening to Christmas music it was time for me to head home. We're hoping to see each other in January.
Saturday, November 29, 2014
A Gift Tester
I have a confession to make:
A book I ordered for a friend came in the mail yesterday. I read the synopsis on the back of the book and I couldn't help myself... I read six chapters last night and I can't wait to read more. It's a novel about an enduring friendship. I should make sure to read the whole book to make sure it's a good Christmas gift, right? I'm in the middle of studying for finals, so I've been getting distracted very easily.
A gift I ordered for another friend came in the mail earlier this week. Three different flavors of loose leaf tea were calling my name to test them out. It's my duty as a friend to taste each of them to make sure she's going to like it, right? Now I can tell her which flavor I think she'll like the best.
I can't just buy someone a gift and not know exactly what it is. I will go the extra mile to test the gift so that I know what it is my friends will be getting from me. I want to be able to put my stamp of approval on it. If it doesn't pass my testing, I'll likely find a new gift to give. Although you may be getting a used or opened gift from me, you should know that at least it passed my test. That's the kind of friend I am... Always looking out for you because my friends deserve the best!
A book I ordered for a friend came in the mail yesterday. I read the synopsis on the back of the book and I couldn't help myself... I read six chapters last night and I can't wait to read more. It's a novel about an enduring friendship. I should make sure to read the whole book to make sure it's a good Christmas gift, right? I'm in the middle of studying for finals, so I've been getting distracted very easily.
A gift I ordered for another friend came in the mail earlier this week. Three different flavors of loose leaf tea were calling my name to test them out. It's my duty as a friend to taste each of them to make sure she's going to like it, right? Now I can tell her which flavor I think she'll like the best.
I can't just buy someone a gift and not know exactly what it is. I will go the extra mile to test the gift so that I know what it is my friends will be getting from me. I want to be able to put my stamp of approval on it. If it doesn't pass my testing, I'll likely find a new gift to give. Although you may be getting a used or opened gift from me, you should know that at least it passed my test. That's the kind of friend I am... Always looking out for you because my friends deserve the best!
Friday, November 21, 2014
Texas for Christmas
I decided to use my Southwest Airline voucher before it expired in May 2015 to visit Veronica for Christmas. I knew I better use the voucher during my winter break because I was not likely to use it during my spring semester. I got the voucher when I cancelled my trip to Texas so that I could attend my grandpa's funeral. I debated on traveling to another city for an adventure of exploring it on my own, but I missed my friend Veronica too much to pass up an opportunity to see her! The last time I saw her was for only about 15 minutes when I had a layover in Austin in July of 2013 and she came to the Airport just to see me for that short amount of time. I felt bad when I had to cancel my trip to see her earlier this year when I lost my grandpa, but she was so understanding and comforting during that difficult time. Veronica was right on board with my idea to visit her for Christmas! We are both super excited!
Have you ever seen one of those awful Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel? The only reason I have is because my mom used to be obsessed with those movies. She no longer has the Hallmark Channel, praise Jesus! Anyways, I felt like the out of touch character from one of those movies when I first told my mom I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. She was overly disappointed. I see my family all year round, so it's not like we only gather and see each other on Christmas. I don't think it's a big deal that I won't be home for Christmas. After some talking, my mom seemed to be coping with it better. I've never traveled during Christmas time before, but I think I'm up for the chaos. I booked nonstop flights so hopefully that helps me get to where I'm going on time. I also can't tell you the last time I had a 5 day long vacation. No school, no work, no family... it's going to be great!
Have you ever seen one of those awful Christmas movies on Hallmark Channel? The only reason I have is because my mom used to be obsessed with those movies. She no longer has the Hallmark Channel, praise Jesus! Anyways, I felt like the out of touch character from one of those movies when I first told my mom I wasn't going to be home for Christmas. She was overly disappointed. I see my family all year round, so it's not like we only gather and see each other on Christmas. I don't think it's a big deal that I won't be home for Christmas. After some talking, my mom seemed to be coping with it better. I've never traveled during Christmas time before, but I think I'm up for the chaos. I booked nonstop flights so hopefully that helps me get to where I'm going on time. I also can't tell you the last time I had a 5 day long vacation. No school, no work, no family... it's going to be great!
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