Heather Shrinks in Houston!

[Zer]

Ah, gonna rename this thread "Heather Takes Stoacism to New Heights" - and I salute you for finding the sunshine and once again making lemonade from a big basket of lemons. By the way, do you have a lemon bush at home? Try Myers for a great lemon if you have a sunny spot. The lemons require no sugar for a nice tart lemonade from sun-ripened fruit. It's the best lemon there is!

[Houston Heather]

I'd love a lemon tree. Maybe a pink varegaited lemon. I think I spelled it wrong. I love vareigated plants, every leaf is different. Some of the actual lemons have stripes and various colorations on them. Fascinating.

I wouldn't eat any other kind of citrus enough to merit buying a tree. Ron loves "Santa Rosa" plums so we've considered buying him a plum tree. They even have various varieties all grafted onto the same rootstock.

Tomorrow Ron has to go to the dentist. Then we go to work if he feels like it. He's said that the partial paralysis due to his accident feels lot like the numbing medicine the dentist uses, except it goes from his head to his toes on the right.

Way to go on the weightloss, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I'm sorry I missed it last week.

[Zer]

Heather, thanks for the b'day salute. This one was relatively painless, as I do not allow myself to be hassled by folks who used to bring me candy and cake and visit for just long enough to make me regret having a b'day.

My uncle was a nurseryman and grew his lemons alongside his house - south side - in a narrow strip between house and driveway. He kept it all pruned to a 3ft tall hedge, so his lemons were always within reach. Sun warmed house walls and he had blossoms and fruit happening at the same time. I think south walls and sunny warmth combined to keep his lemon hedge happy even in SoCal winters.

I've seen a pink lemon. I think it had a striped (yellow and green) peel. You could have several varieties lined up to make a hedge, if that fits into your yard. I know my uncle got his money's worth from that narrow strip of dirt that he filled with lemon producing hedge the length of his driveway. Smart!

[Houston Heather]

I have about 4 thousand square feet out back. Here we go: Home photos from when we bought the house. One of my favorite photos is "Ron up the ladder". The orange tree died during a bad depression of mine, and I hated the pear tree and dug it up. Boy, that was a chore! Here's that blog entry: "Bipolar Isn't a Real Illness"/Heather digs up the pear tree. I hope you like my slide show! I had a lot of fun making it.

Ron hates fig trees. He deliberately ran over it with the lawn mower. Bad man.

I'm glad you've seen the lemons I'm talking about. I'd love to grow at least one. I love the fragrance of the blossoms. One garden goal of mine is to have fragrant plants everywhere for Ron to enjoy.

I planted hundreds of freesia bulbs out in front, around the ash tree. They come in every year without help now. One morning, Ron was walking down the driveway to our ride, and he just stopped. His face was filled with ecstacy. "What is that glorious smell?" Oh, that? That's the freesias. He stood still for a minute, his face transported with joy, as he inhaled deeply several times. "Beautiful" and continued down the driveway.

That's what I want! I have 5 small garden beds I've dug up and amended in the back left yard. The soil in them is fantastic now - it's had a couple of years of improvement. I want to use them for veggies. The middle of the backyard is filled with underground utilities, so that's out. I don't want to poke a hole in the gas main! The back right yard is very shaded by a couple of neighboring trees and our own ash tree out back.

The front yard is really shady. I need to figure out, what's fragrant and doesn't mind shade for most of the year? I have some roses out front that I need to move. Ron actually bought them for me, a Valentines day present years ago. I told him I'd rather have a rose bush. He agreed, and at Walmart prices he could get me a couple!

One simple thing I want is a few scented geraniums, I'm thinking of putting them in garden bed 4, which is pretty shady (the one with the rosemary in it). I'd love a rose, and maybe a citrus geranium, and some lemon thyme, too. I plan to check out some of the "nice" nurseries on my next free day.

It would be nice if I could put the scented geraniums by the front door, but I'm pretty sure they need a lot more sun.

Last night I did something foolish, I ate a cup and a half of flavored popcorn. I developed a nasty headache. I had to take asprin and phenergan. I thought I "deserved a treat". One day, I'll remember that that "treat" will come back to bite me in the head and skip it.

I have the most illogical fear today. First a little background, and I'm hungry so I'm getting a slimfast low carb. OK, got my shake and the pills are down the hatch. I just love it, I've gone from a big tablet of antidepressant to a tiny speck, and my moods are completely level.

Alright. I have had a lot of lousy medical care in my life. In 1992, after Ron and I "got together" I began developing severe, repeated bladder infections. I finally figured out an unscented baby wipe to the affected area, after "intimacy". It works great, the last one I had was years ago. I was having one every month, for months, though. Horrible.

My doctor was frustrated, and so was I. I requested they do an IVP - a kidney and urethral X-ray to make sure that my plumbing was OK. I had to get very assertive.

About this time, I also developed Mono. I was miserable, and I kept getting bladder infections! It got to the point that I wouldn't see my doctor unless I was half-dead, because I would just get another prescription for antibiotics that only addressed the acute problem, not the chronic one. Sound familiar?

Oh, yeah, about this time I passed my first gallstone. Ron was like, you're 18, what is WRONG WITH YOU? I feel like I married my elderly mother! I was consuming a lot of sugar and refined carbs.

So, I feel worse than usual for a while. I go in. The doctor tells me "Your urine test was full of blood and bacteria. I don't believe it. I think you contaminated it somehow. Go home and take this antibiotic, though". It was Ciprofloxacin. I became so ill I vomited constantly. Ron called and left a message. The doctor called me "I know you may think it's easy being in the hospital (Say WHA?) but it isn't! If you can't stop vomiting I'll have to admit you!" Well, gee, I'm sorry to bother you.

I stopped the antibiotic. I asked if I needed anything else. He said no, I didn't have an infection.

So, it wasn't until my fever got to 104, I couldn't hold down a sip of water, and the chills woke Ron out of bed, that I agreed to go back to the hospital. They took one look at me and admitted me. My creatine levels were sky-high. I was admitted for a week. They gave me an IV course and killed it.

Then, I finally got some decent medical care. Oh, and the doctor was fired. Because of his screw-up, I cost the HMO a lot more money.

I was admitted Feb 12. So, today I'm just freaked out that I'll get really sick and end up in the hospital.

I'll take my shower, and take Ron to the dentist, and go to work. I'm not going to worry about it, but boy, it's been a while since I've had such an illogical worry.

It was also a Thursday. Creepy.

[Zer]

What a great idea, to plant for a fragrant yard, so R can enjoy it. Herbs can do a lot, with some needing a pinch to bring forth leafy fragrance of a plant. I am trying to remember what I read about a queen whose bedroom window was just above a bed of lavender that delivered a relaxing fragrance when in bloom. It's a great idea for a window box or a garden. What about planting sprigs of mint all over a lawn, so that mowing it brings forth not only that wonderful grassy scent but also a minty aroma? That's from an English gardening book. Lovely!

You've got great ideas for a yard garden. What about putting raised boxes in that center area, maybe with bench seating at box edge, and filling the boxes with plants that invite touch - fuzzy leaf "kitten ear" plant as well as plants to pinch for the scent that a bruised leaf yields. Geraniums have lemon varieties and mint, some of which are considered edible. What about growing some nice nasturtium for the bite of a tasty leaf in a salad? Raised boxes will keep roots from encroaching on utilities buried in that part of your yard. Also nice to put enriched soil in a raised bed for better growth. Do you have a compost pile going somewhere in your yard? We have a LC'er who keeps a bin of worms in her NY cellar and feeds them leafy garbage to turn into rich compost. She turns the stuff regularly. Says it smells earthy. Not nasty. More like earth after a rainfall. Just earthy, rich. Worms? Euw!

Sorry you are feeling anxious about medical care. Me too. It's exhausting, fretting about what MIGHT happen when we fall into inept hands. AGHHH!

[Houston Heather]

I have a compost pile, in the corner of the yard. When people around here hire a yard guy, the yard guy always bags the "yard waste" in a clear plastic bag. Last year, I stole 2 huge bags of pure oak leaves off the neighbor's curb. I'm still using them.

I like to dig in good soil amendments as I plant. I'm a huge fan of composted manure, and fortunate enough to have a buddy with a pickup truck who doesn't mind. When I did a soil test, the guy told me my soil is unusually fertile. God thought of everything!

I remembered to wear my sunscreen today. I plan to buy a scented geranium at Walmart, maybe 2. I can walk over from Ron's dentist. I even put on some makeup!

[Houston Heather]

My gallbladder isn't hurting today. It's got me freaked out. I keep wondering "What's wrong?" That is SAD.

I took Ron to the dentist. I gave Ron his photo book so he could show off the lawnmowing photos. I walked over to Walmart. They were getting a delivery of plants, so I got some literally fresh off the truck. I got a really nice citrus-scented geranium. I planted it out back in garden bed 4. I also got a grape tomato plant - I like them, and so does Ron. I feel happy with 2 tomatoes this year. I can always get another one later. I got some onions, they all went to seed last year instead of "onioning" but that happens occasionally. I'm going to try at least. I do love onions. Last of all, I got a regular thyme plant. It's pretty pungent and not lemon scented, but it's a nice little plant that's fragrant. Why not? Besides, in a few days Walmart will have "Walmarted" them into near-death.

I bought Ron some juice drinks and the pb pretzel things for Ron and his dentist. Soda for me, and back to the dentist. Ron only needed a filling, and it's done. $70 isn't bad, we have a discount plan, kind of like the supermarket discount card.

Came home, planted the geranium, took a half-hour nap, got up, no ride yet, and eventually we're going to work. It's more of a "check up on the machines because we had a thunderstorm" situation. I doubt they'll need heavy stocking.

[Zer]

I'm not sure about this, but maybe onions need to be pulled up before the bulb is depleted by the blossom developing? Seems to me I've seen a row of onions in a picture, laid out to dry a bit as a preliminary to being braided for hanging. Perhaps leaving any bulb in the ground invites the plant to complete a cycle of life - as in going to seed. Did the onion bulbs multiply underground, as some flower bulbs will multiply if left to do so? What a lot there is to gardening!

Oak leaves? I've got a shred of an idea that oak leaves are fine for mulching but not useful in a compost heap. True? I'm not sure. Cannot recall where that bit of info came from but it got filed away in my head somehow!

[Houston Heather]

Onions can be a little tricky. The top flops over in year one. Then you let it dry and eat it. But if it's exposed to cold and then warmth twice, for a long enough period, it believes it is two years old and time to flower and set seed. That's what happened with last year's onions. The year before that I had a great crop of lovely onions.

Oak leaves can mat, and run a little acidic, but since they're "yard waste" they're blended with dead grass clippings. I mix them with chopped pine bark and manure too. It makes a nice fluffy blend.

Wow, I have some good soil. I planted about 30 onion sets (I figured why not, they were fresh off the truck. If nothing else they're a good companion), the thyme, and the grape tomato - it's a roma grape so it has very good flavor. I prefer cherry sized tomatoes and I figure two plants will be enough for the both of us. I also planted the geranium earlier, and watered everyone. They all look great. I call them "The sprouts". I put a tomato cage over the geranium. If it likes the soil, it's going to need some support. Ron liked the fragrance, so that made me happy. I'm going to go to the garden center this weekend and see if I can find some more fun geraniums.

Well, it was nice while it lasted. The pain came back around 1 PM. Apparently the phenergan had kept it at bay. Pretty bad, but like I told Ron, "I'm not yellow yet" and "It only hurts when I eat".

When I got home, I felt lousy, but like I told Ron, I'd rather hurt outside in the yard doing something I love, than moaning in bed. So I gardened for an hour.

I have no idea what I'm doing for dinner. I didn't realize how nauseous I can get until I took that phenergan today. Boy, I had an APPETITE. I ate 4 double cheeseburgers, no buns, for lunch.

I need to eat something tonight so I can take my lithium, but it's gonna hurt.

Overall, I had a great day. I helped Ron a lot - at the dentist, running the errand at Walmart while he was in the chair, and then helping him at work. I was kind to myself, spending over an hour outside in the yard doing what I love. I even wore makeup and used sunscreen today. I brought my tunes so I had AWESOME music.

I'm very proud of myself today.

[skeopple]

You are so-deserving of being free from pain. Do you think it's a gallstone that will pass, or are you pretty sure you will have to remove the gallbladder? It's hard to self diagnos when the doctors are of no help whatsoever! Hope you feel better real soon.

[Zer]

Heather, I'm proud of you too - for all you do when you hurt like heck. Yay, YOU! Thanks for explaining how onions get confused when weather cycles too fast through warm/cold. Poor onions! Had no idea onion is a 2d-year-flower and seeding crop. My SoCal uncle said his apricot tree bore better fruit every 2d year, lean pickings every other year.

[Houston Heather]

I've had "stones" since I was 18. This is more of a chronic thing, with nausea. I'm a little warm but that may be the shower I just took. I won't play games with my health. My dad ended up with gallbladder gangrene last year, I want to avoid something like that if I can.

I did give my aunt my password and username, so if "I" post about "me" being "laid up", you'll know. I really hope it all comes to a head soon and I can get the damned gallbladder out.

I think a lot of fruit trees do that, Zer. Oh, one tree I'd love? Apple. I love apples.

I was a little "up" earlier today so I took an extra lithium with "dinner" - a slimfast shake and a couple ounces of cream cheese.

[Snowman]

WOW, Heather the busy bee!! You got alot done today for not feeling well!! Glad you got to do some fun stuff you like to do out in the yard.

Sure hope you don't end up in the hospital, but if you do they treat you better!! I'm sure your ready to get rid of the pain, that must be awful.

[*Pear*]

Originally Posted by Houston Heather

I hated the pear tree and dug it up.

[Houston Heather]

You're my favorite Pear.

Well, I just cooked myself in the shower yesterday. I had a pretty good night but my gums were bleeding a lot this morning, too much asprin! I took some vitamin C. I found out during a bad head cold years ago that lithium + C is an OK combination.

I forgot Ron's going to give me the rest of my pay today. We had a good laugh over that. Tomorrow, he'll drop me at Home Depot so I can look at plants and organic fertilizer. I'll have a blast! He'll go home quick, and then I can take the bus up 1960 to the other garden center. It'll be fun.

Today is work-bank-Burger King. Also fun.

The cats are after Ron - he got some cheesesteak hot pockets. It made me so happy to see he'd fixed himself one this morning. His only problem? He left it on the bed and our BAD CATS were sniffing and licking at it.

You'll never eat at our house, huh?

So now the cats are stalking him for philly cheese steak hot pockets, whenever he has one in hand.

[Zer]

Glad that R is fixing himself food, has an appetite. That's good news! Sorry to hear the cats are "sharing" his food without him knowing they are stalking him. Maybe you can find a safe container for R to put his food in when he lays it down, like the styrofoam or cardboard box that fastfood places have. Not too complicated, but some protection against cats and flies. The containers kind of lock and might allow R to ward of snoopy cats when he lays his food down.

Does R mind eating what the cats have licked?
Or do you even tell him about it?

As much as I like cats, I know where their tongues have been (yech!) and I'm inclined to consider a cat-lick as the end to my desire for whatever's been licked. Call me squeamish, if you will. Cat spit turns me off!

[Houston Heather]

They were licking at some escaped filling on the plate. I took the plate away. I agree completely, I know where that tongue has been! EW! I will let them sleep in my bowl, but I won't them eat food I'm going to eat. They get the leftovers.

I had a very interesting thought today. I have a high tolerance for pain. When I came home, I did some research. Sure enough, there's cause:

There is a continuum of effects of alcohol exposure, and the new term for this range of conditions is fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. Mild damage will include decreased intellectual function, visual problems, and high pain tolerance. Most children will be shorter and lighter than average for their ages.

About 85% of children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder have characteristic facial features (wide-set eyes, thin upper lip, flat nasal philtrum, small head size called microcephaly).

I do have some of the "features" - especially noticable when I was a young child. But the high tolerance for pain is a bonus, IMO.

So I can walk around with a freaked-out gallbladder, work, and play and it really doesn't hurt as much as it would if I were "normal". Cool.

Things haven't been bad today. I got paid, I got my quad stacker, and I bought one of our drivers lunch. I had a good time talking about zombie movies with another driver.

[Zer]

Heather, your talk about FAS has begun to make me wonder, as I was born to a woman who was a heavy smoker/drinker married to a pilot who was also a big drinker/smoker. My pain threshold appears to be high enough to get me past some stuff that others find surprising - like a 4hr gall bladder attack that excruciated me during the wee hours - but that I dealt with by sitting up, rocking and moaning from 1am to 5am, massaging my gut to ease a frightful burning pain that I thought might make me faint (or puke) - and that I later told my sister about. She said it sounded like what hit her, took her to a hospital and resulted in removal of her gall bladder. Do we override significant signals and risk serious damage because we just keep on while others dial 9-1-1 and go get medical attention? I wonder. Thanks for all you share on FAS. Scary!

Oh, I've got an idea for how R might keep food away from stalking cats. How about hanging a 3-tier basket thingee where he can reach it easily? I think the baskets are meant to hold kitchen stuff, maybe vegies, but I love using them for anything at all. The whole contraption folds up flat when not in use, but it sure would give R a cat-proof resting place for stuff he MIGHT want to lay aside and eat later. Might also provide a place for cat treats that SOME CATS are inclined to snarfle when they find a bag open and available.

[Houston Heather]

Huh, I have one of those for my onions.

My take on things is that I don't feel my health is in danger at this point. I have some miserable symptoms - nausea, diarrhea, severe pain after eating that lasts for hours, right upper quadrant, low-grade fever, but all that is consistent with just having gallstones, not a sign of something dangerous.

If a stone gets stuck on the way out, it can screw up your liver and/or pancreas. The gallbladder can swell and get gangrene, like my Dad's, or you can just go through life with a gallbladder full of gravel and lower-grade symptoms.

I don't have a high fever, vomiting (God forbid, how would I keep down my lithium!), intractable pain, jaundice (yellow eyes), chills, passing out, or foggy thinking. I'm still me.

I assume, if God wants me in the hospital getting emergency surgery, I'll get multiple choice of the above. But if He doesn't, I'm going to the garden center tomorrow.

Here's a very interesting article on how alcohol actually rewires the prenatal brain:
Prenatal Alcohol Exposure and the Brain Offhand, I would say you probably are very well also FAS, because you have problems "integrating" into society. One thing you wrote really hit me, about feeling alone and alien in a hostile world. I've felt like that for most of my life.

It wasn't until AFTER my diagnosis that I could actually get some peace on why my life had been so challenging.

[Houston Heather]

I just did some research. I don't feel I'm an emergency, but I found out the county hospital has an urgent care center. VERY interesting.

I may check it out this weekend. I just need to figure out the buses.

Your trip has 1 transfer and will take 1 hour[s] and 30 minute[s]. Depart at 11:54am from the stop at [NEAR HOME] on route XXX . Arrive at 1:00pm at the stop at [DOWNTOWN]. Transfer at 1:04pm at the stop at FANNIN ST @ DALLAS ST to route 001 "HOSPITAL/VIA TEX MED CTR/V A HOSPITAL" SOUTHBOUND. Arrive at 1:25pm at the final destination stop at BEN TAUB LOOP @ MAC GREGOR WAY.

They have got to be kidding! I don't think I'll be doing THAT. I'd have a shorter trip to Galveston.

40 minutes later: I called the advice nurse for the hospital district.
"You need to come in". AGH. He had a very nice way of calling me a dumb a$$ for wanting to wait until I was worse.

I HATE hospitals! I'm not running a fever - it just hurts. Ugh. I gotta pray on this. Damnit, I want to have some FUN tomorrow, not spend the day getting stuck, hacked on, and ignored.

[Houston Heather]

OK, I prayed about it. Got strong leadings to go to "LBJ" - county hospital #2.

I have a pickup tomorow at 11 AM. Hopefully I can get this stupid gallbladder issue resolved then.

[Snowman]

Heather ~ I will be praying for you tomorrow!


[COLOR="Red"]HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!![/COLOR]

[Houston Heather]

Ron's giving me cab fare home, and was very nice about everything. Why do I expect him to act like a jerk? He's not!

Anyway, tomorrow is medical day and hopefully I'll be shopping at the garden center in a few days. I'm debating what to take to the hospital. Knitting? Books? Probably both, and some legal snacks too. If I get admitted I'll be glad to have them.

We got a nice rain today so all the little sprouties in my garden will be safe, too.

[Zer]

Originally Posted by Houston Heather

... I called the advice nurse for the hospital district. "You need to come in". AGH. He had a very nice way of calling me a dumb a$$ for wanting to wait until I was worse.

Let's hope you have a safe night and a safe trip to the hospital. Take your knitting and books and snacks, for sure, in case you get a green light for surgery to put an end to the misery you have endured for so long. I'll be thinking of you!

[skeopple]

Heather, I'll pray for you to travel safely to the urgent care place tomorrow. And that they can solve what is causing your pain. Hopefully your high thresh hold for pain doesn't lead you to wait too long to get helped? Best wishes.

What will Ron do if you need surgery? I know they do same day gall bladder removal here now.

[Houston Heather]

I had a good sleep, so good I thought I could cancel.

I know myself, though, and that's why I told my aunt, uncle, mom, and dad about my trip to the hospital. Plus, Chuck's giving me a ride. Explaining to THEM? Uh, no.

I asked God to give me a sign - I woke up with a lousy headache, nausea, and there goes the gallbladder and I haven't eaten yet. I really, truly, feel crappy. Good thing I'm going in, huh?

Ron's got food and he can manage most of the self-care stuff on his own (bathroom, washing up, eating). I would presumably be home in a few days, worst case, and he'll be fine until then. He knows the names of the convenience foods he likes so he could ask anyone to pick him up "Philly Cheesesteak Hot Pockets" and "Welch's Pineapple Orange juice in the little bottles". He could even call a cab, and tell him his list, and give him some money to buy groceries.

He won't have clean laundry until I get back, and someone needs to buy more Wellness cat food, but he'd be fine. He's very independent, thank God. It would be very difficult for him getting to work, but the next delivery he'd HAVE to get would be on Friday, and he could have Mike get that.

I'm not worried about Ron - but I do need more cat food! I suck, I was supposed to get a small emergency bag for times like this. But I didn't.

I brought some books, soda, and knitting. I don't know what'll happen with the nausea but I hate being thirsty.

Oh, some GOOD NEWS. I'm down to my all-time low-carb waist measurement - 31.5. I've also melted off the heavy whipping cream (let's hear it for nausea!) and gotten my weight back to 171. That makes me very happy.

[Zer]

Good luck, Heather, in today's adventure in medicine. About the cats, I bet R will see to it that nobody starves at your house. Bet you find full fat tummies all around when you get back home. What to bet? So take care of YOU today!

[KristenT]

Hope everything goes well for you Heather. Feel better soon!

[Houston Heather]

I just need to stuff some knitting in my bag and I'm good.

It's escalating, so I don't have to worry about "I don't hurt" when I get to the hospital.

[Snowman]

Heather ~

Take care of yourself!! You are so sweet thinking of Ron and the cats!! They will be ok, take care of Heather so you can get back to them!!

Good idea to pack something to do and eat, your so smart!!

I'll be praying for you!