Memorial Day

I know I am a little slow in my posting, but here are some pictures from the past Memorial Day weekend with mom and dad.

Here's a picture of Ben and I on the Key Bridge over the Potomac River. Mom, Dad, Ben and I walked from the Rosslyn metro station over the bridge to Georgetown. In the background is Georgetown University. The day was beautiful, I was a little chilly, but i am always cold.

Ben found this great little restaurant in Georgetown called Mr. Smiths. When you first walk in, it looks like a dingy bar but once you walk to the back of the "bar" and down some steps, you walk into this really pretty open garden area. There is also an outside area that you can eat at. It was really neat. This picture is from that restaurant.

I am sparing you the plethora of pictures I have of Dad stretching from Georgetown through DC. But here is one of the pictures where Dad is stretching in the middle of our walk from the metro to Georgetown. I'm not sure what Ben is doing.....but I caught the Kodak moment anyways.

In this photo, Daniel has joined in on the stretching madness.

The visit was a lot of fun....all too short though.

Other than that, Ben and I are doing well. We found a dentist that we really liked. And both Ben and I are cavity-free after something like 2 years (or more) since we've last visited a dentist. So we were pretty happy.

We went down to the complex's swimming pool the other day. It was really nice. But the water was cold. The weather has been beautiful so we are planning on heading back to the pool next week with hopes of warmer water.

Aida is going to be spending the day at "Doggie Day Camp" tomorrow as we help one of Ben's friends move from Manassas to Leesburg. Unfortunately the forecast is calling for thunderstorms so the move might be a little wet.....oh well. Next weekend we have the Race for the Cure and we are also going to be going to a festival in Fairfax. And then we have our favorite Godson's 1st birthday party the following weekend.

That's about all that is new with us. Hope all is well with everyone. Enjoy your weekend!

Race for the Cure

Ben and I have joined the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure. For those of you who don't know, the Race for the Cure is a race geared towards raising funds for breast cancer research. Although neither Ben or I have lost a loved one to breast cancer, we hope that we never have to.

Unfortunately, I thought that the race was later on in the summer, and therefor am late in putting this information out. The race is on Saturday June 7th. It is a 5K run/walk (we will probably be doing more walking than running) in downtown DC. The proceeds go to the Susan G Komen for the Cure organization. The story of Susan G Komen is very touching and I would encourage everyone to read it at: http://cms.komen.org/komen/AboutUs/SusanGKomensStory/index.htm
If you don't have time to read her whole story, you should know that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33. She ultimately lost her three year battle but before she died, she asked her sister to promise to help other women with breast cancer. Her sister fulfilled her promise through the organization of the Susan G Komen for the Cure.

We think it is a worthy cause. And I could bet that anyone who reads this can think of at least one person affected by this disease. For me, Aunt Helen, Grandma Myra and Lee Panco. Who do you think of?

The smallest donation you can give is $5.00. Our goal is only $250. We hope to surpass our goal, but any little bit counts. Please take a minute to visit our team page at:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/search/searchTeamPart.asp?ievent=263218&lis=0&kntae263218=4B771B0AB602472EBDB6BA86863839B1&supId=0&team=2804058

or by clicking on the link underneath the thermometer icon on the right side of the screen. And help in the fight against breast cancer.

SPOOOOOOON!!!!!

Ok, unless you have ever seen the old cartoon "The Tick," the title of this post would not make any sense to you. "Spoon!" was the tick's battle cry....it was a funny cartoon...whatever...Just thought I would add this disclaimer.

So, as Ben was giving Aida some good loving pets, he said, "what the hell is this?!" and instructed me to get the flashlight. As he picked through her fur like a monkey, he found this bulbous skin tag. Or so we thought. I actually would have preferred a skin tag to the nastiness that was the engorged tick attached to her chest.

After a short freak-out, I called the vet and made an appointment for "tick-removal." And as I was on the phone with the vet tech, they reminded me that I was indeed behind on my Lyme Disease vaccination. I forgot that a few weeks after the initial vaccination, a booster shot was needed. Therefor I had to get her re-vaccinated. Super.

What started as a "free-of-charge" tick removal, turned into a $50 vet visit. And what's worse, is the realization that the tick, flea and heartworm preventative we use (Revolution) is not strong enough for the vicious ticks and fleas of these here parts. The reason I liked Revolution so much was because it was very cost effective, and only one dose per month rather than a pill for heartworm and a separate pill or topical for fleas and ticks. So instead of $150 per year for Revolution, Frontline is running around $170-$180 per year PLUS $90 or so for heartworm. Ahhh the joys of owning a pet.

Add all of that, plus the gourmet organic food, and the fancy-pants expensive vets....and you've got one expensive mutt.

Oh well.

Virginia ticks suck...........................literally.

For the Love of Gallbladders!!!

Well, I went to see the specialist today. He was much much much better than the previous specialist. He said that although the text book symptoms of gallbladder problems shows up on your right side...it is possible to have a gallstone pass through the duct, get lodged, and cause severe pain that radiates from the center and wrapping around both sides. That's what i had. He thinks that the gallbladder is the cause of my problems and is sending me for another ultrasound. He said in ultrasounds that up to 15% of gallstones are missed and that since I did not "fast" before hand that could have hindered the view of the gallbladder somewhat. He also said that it is possible that on the Sunday of my first ER visit, that I had a stone stuck in the duct by my pancreas causing that horrible pain.

So the outcome of my whole visit: I am going next Tuesday for an ultrasound. I cannot eat or drink anything after midnight. :( Good thing i am not a very big breakfast person. Once the results come back, if I have any stones or "sludge" the doctor said I am off to the surgeon before I have any more "attacks." If the test comes back negative I will be on watch in case something happens again.

I know I probably mentioned it before, but the last ultrasound in Akron showed a polyp or small stone in my gallbladder. And unfortunately, according to the doctor, those small stones are the ones you have to watch out for because they can get stuck and cause problems such as pain and pancreatitis. So that's what they will be looking for.

So if i have the surgery, unfortunately I will be on a low-fat diet for the rest of my life....I suppose that is a good thing. But no big pizza parties, ice cream sundaes, etc. Oh well. Until I have the ultrasound results, I am on a low-fat diet. Boo hiss.

Well, that is the update. I will keep everyone posted on how I am doing. :)

Tylenol, Advil, and.....Dilaudid

I cannot remember the last time I have been so sick for so long.

First we started out with Ben coming down with Pneumonia/Bronchitis the weekend before last. I did my best mimicking mom and dad. As "mom," I cooked for him, got him whatever he needed or wanted, took him to the doctor's office and basically did whatever I could. As "dad," I went out and bought Clorox spray and wipes and disinfected any surface I could then I proceeded to get "sympathy sickness." The Sunday before last Ben took me to the ER with severe upper abdominal pain. As I laid on the hospital bed crying, Ben sat in the chair shivering with a fever. I was given Dilaudid (good drug by the way) but of course it doesn't take much to knock me out. And because Ben knows all the nurses, they gave him Tylenol with codeine.

So after my fun visit to the ER where it was determined that nothing could be done at that time, I spent the week with an uncomfortable stomach. Then I went to a GI doctor, who I am pretty sure got his MD from a mail-order-MD company or something...I didn't like him. So I found a new GI doctor that got really good ratings and I made an appointment for this upcoming Thursday.

I started feeling sicker as the weekend approached so I made an appointment on Friday to see the doctor. She gave me a prescription for Augmentin and said i had Allergic Sinusitis. So I was to take: Augmentin, Zyrtec and Mucinex. But as I was on my way to the pharmacy, I thought to call mom because I thought Augmentin sounded familiar. She called my old doctor and it was confirmed that I am allergic to Augmentin. After several hours of fighting the doctors office, they finally called in a new script: a Z-pack. On top of everything, I start with a low fever on Friday night.

Saturday rolls around and I feel horrible. But my good childhood friend, Derek, was getting married and we had RSVP'd for the wedding already and I really didn't want to miss it. So I insisted that we go. Ben, being the good husband he is, drove the whole way. Once we got to Ohio, i felt even worse...but after a little bit i started to feel better and decided to go to the wedding. To my surprise, I lasted through the entire ceremony and most of the reception without feeling really sick. I avoided dancing and drinking so as to not aggravate whatever I was sick with. It was really nice to see all my old friends from school though. I was happy we went.

That night, at about 2:30AM I woke up with a 101 temp, a headache and stomach pains. Ben got up with me and tried to get me to drink fluids, take Advil and get back to sleep. So the next day, Mother's Day, I tried really hard to feel better. But unfortunately my body didn't agree with me. So once my fever started spiking again and I was feeling like "a thousand buffalo" (referencing dad's quote from the car ride back from Maine) were trampling on me, Ben wanted to take me to the ER. So exactly one week from the first ER visit I was back...different state, different hospital.

After a long wait in the waiting room I was put in a room. And after another long wait my temp reached over 102 degrees. So I had a massive pile of blankets on me and mom went and worked her magic to get a nurse or doctor. Long story short (well at least a little less long) they tested me for everything, and besides treating me for a bad case of dehydration, there was nothing they could do. They basically concluded that I had some type of nasty stomach/intestinal virus. No fun.

So i am still going to the doctor this Thursday. I am hoping that there is something they can do. But don't worry, i will keep you all posted on my stomach woes. I can't wait to feel better. I still am not feeling great. But I did start to eat food today. I haven't eaten any real food beyond saltines, jello and popsicles since last Friday. I am hoping tomorrow will be better.

Looking forward to seeing the family Memorial Day weekend (so long as I am feeling better :) )!