woodland_miniatures

Roxy, the same thing happened to me with it seemed like all my electronics croaking all at once - phone, digital camera, kindle, coffee maker, laptop - you name it, it died. The aliens were definitely messing with both of us....

Selkie, Heidi, both really good points for me to ask about. I myself took the outer stitches out when I had transport problems and couldn't get into the ortho's office - snip and pull, and I did it because they'd been there much longer than they should have been and the whole area was looking "angry", and it did calm down after that. The doc had taken some of the stitches out earlier, and that's the part of the incision that's re-opened. I will most definitely ask about inner stitches when I see the guy again next Monday.

I know, Holly, and a decade older than me, and still going strong. The face shows every single drug/drink/smoke/emotional excess and is truly frightening, but he ain't over yet! (Now, the one that slays me is Keith Richards - if ever there's a walking miracle of survival, man....) About my own situation - well, I've had a little backtrack. One end of the surgical incision from the amputation re-opened about 10 days ago, apparently hadn't actually healed below the surface, and as you can imagine I freaked and spent some days so far down I basically didn't crawl out of bed. Finally took it to the doctor last Thursday and he checked VERY carefully for any signs of infection (said if he'd found any I'd be on IV antibiotics and in the hospital again five minutes ago) and mercifully didn't find any. Sent me home with strong oral antibiotics to keep it that way and careful instructions about how to dress and/or not dress the thing (it's about an inch and a half open at one end of a four-inch incision). Mostly,dry gauze when I'm in bed and open air when I'm not. He wants a scab to re-develop over the thing and let it heal with as little interference as possible. And if I see any, repeat ANY change in the thing (redness, swelling, hot to the touch, etc.) I am to scream bloody murder and run, run, run to the emergency room. And see him again in two weeks. And I was so hoping all this &^*% was over with - SIGH!

Dawn, so sorry you're going through this still - it is so very frustrating to have a problem that doesn't seem to have a solution, at least not one that's readily apparent anyway. There is one out there, but it's so hard to be patient and strong enough to find it. My heartfelt sympathies, my dear!

Thank you so much, Deb - those are actually videos I hadn't yet found on YouTube. Lord, don't they all look so young! My, my, my!

YES!!!

Kathie, I do a pretty mean "chair dance" as it is - have rediscovered the Rolling Stones and tons of concert footage on YouTube, and I defy anyone to stay still during "Satisfaction" or "Gimme Shelter". Hey, as long as there's still the Stones and rock 'n' roll, I'll be dancing! (BTW, for those of us who are aging - and who isn't? - that those old boys are still going strong, playing, singing and dancing their hearts out fifty years on should be a great source of hope).

We've all sure been though a lot, haven't we? Was reading back in this thread and seeing all the caring and love and wonderful words freely given here, well, to say it's heartlifting and wonderful just doesn't seem like saying enough. Watched "Forrest Gump" again night before last, and experienced a whole new level of that very special movie. Lieutenant Dan's ordeal of losing his legs hit home for me, his rage, depression, despair (all of which I experienced in the months before the actual surgery), and finally his coming to terms with his disability and that nothing would ever be the same again, well, I'm there right now. Somehow seeing Gary Sinise nail those emotions and situations absolutely dead-on helped, and so have a lot of entries by folks right here. As Forrest said to Lt. Dan, he was STILL Lt. Dan, and someone here said that to someone else here, and it's so true - I am STILL Mary. And that helps to remember, it really does. Just my way of doing things is vastly different, but you know, the really important stuff, the stuff that really matters, well, that really is all still here.

Yep, I've picked up my crochet hook and thread again myself, after a long hiatus, and it really does feel good to be doing something I love and symbolizes normalcy to me. And it's good to be back here again, too!

Hey, I'm back among the living again, more or less. It's been an interesting few months, with hospitalizations, infections, and...an amputation. Went to my ortho doc on December 18 and he didn't even let me go home, just popped me in a wheelchair and wheeled me across the street to the hospital and checked me in. The left foot came off the next day, leaving a few inches below the knee, and...WHEE!!! NO MORE INFECTIONS!! Never thought I'd be happy (well, not happy exactly) to lose a body part, but with the source of all the trouble gone, I started to feel better immediately and pretty soon felt GOOD for the first time in at least three-plus years. Spent a few weeks in a rehab facility in Yakima (my heavens, I have NEVER had food that bad in my life!) learning how to handle myself one-legged (you'd be surprised at the little thing that - so to speak LOL - trip you up, then had in-home nursing for a few weeks, and now tomorrow I pay my first visit to a prosthetics clinic to see about getting an artificial foot. Seems I'm a very good candidate for same - strong, otherwise healthy, determined, etc. So while I am in a power chair now, there's a good chance I'll get to walk again - jeez, I've almost forgotten what that's like (but I think I'll remember VERY quickly LOL!). Got a lot of catching up to do - but, oh my, is it good to be back!

Nothin' but wet, sloppy and gray for us here in the Cascades this winter - usually by now we have several feet of snow, but only a couple of inches so far. I'm wondering when my entire town was transported (while we all slept, no doubt) to the Seattle area? Still, at least it hasn't been cold! What some of the rest of the country has been going through makes me feel darn lucky!

Deb, BIG hugs, and those memories are a trove you'll treasure forever. The lady is at peace now, and though it hurts now, you'll always have the lady in memory.

Oddly enough, having the actual verdict in hand has made looking up at that snake's belly seem not all THAT far up. Yes, it's off with her foot time, but y'know, it'll be a relief, in a weird way, to have a resolution to this endless cycle of infection/healing/not healing/infection....Get my life back again, and I am blessed with a g-o-o-d life, wonderful friends (including you guys - I can't say what a difference your hugs have made), and the privilege of living in a truly beautiful environment (eastern slopes of the WA Cascade Mountains). It's been made clear to me that I matter to folks around here, and that I'll get whatever TLC/help/just plain ol' hugs I might need during this process, and yes, I'm still trying to get my head around that, but it is an amazing comfort to know I AM NOT ALONE. And very humbling. Waiting now to hear from the orthopedic surgeon, and my visiting nurse will be coming today; a social worker is coming on Monday to evaluate me for having an in-home helper (I manage okay, but, oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to have help with cooking, cleaning, shopping....all possible from the state, but oh the hoops you have to jump through!). One thing I do know: the crochet hook/knitting needles will keep on clickin'. Maybe not with minis right now, but doesn't taking a stock of thread and hooks and my Kindle (for patterns) to rehab with me sound like a nice compact package? If I can just get a good light.. At the moment am working on a full-sized wool poncho for myself - decided something like that would be a lot easier to get in/out of than a regular coat (gotta stand for that LOL) and keep Mary cuddly, and lo and behold, a neighbor cleaned out her yarn stash my direction and there's just enough lovely wool yarn for the poncho I had in mind. There's always a solution, isn't there, and never where you're looking for it. Folks, again, thank you, you've helped a dark day be lighter. Thank you.

Can't sleep, so am breaking in my new bread machine - honey cracked wheat. YUM! Am going to doctor later today to discuss my rotting, unhealing foot, and am feeling very low about it all. But after well over three and a half years of the wound not healing and infection after infection, I can see the inevitable coming. In a way, it'll be a relief to go ahead and have the leg amputated (OMG, what an ugly word!), but it still terrifies me. Yeah, I've been living in this wheel chair for over two years now, but y'know, I'm kinda used to having that thing there at the ened of my leg. SIGH! The goal right now is to get me healthy enough for the surgery - get me over the gut infection, etc., and so don't really know what sort of time line I'm facing. Got endless people to look after Koko while I'm gone (and dunno for how long), and have months of food on hand for him, sooo....We'll see what happens later today. Prayers for all those going through a rough patch, and any send my way would be appreciated. As my momma used to say, I'd have to look up right now to see a snake's belly. But, then, I AM still here and still plugging along. And that counts.

Our high today might get up to 15 degrees F, and everything is coated with frost and ice. My cat demanded to go out late last night, and I said okay, on your head be it - he was out a total of 3 minutes (just long enough to water the closest bush LOL) and that was the end of that. My poor heater/air conditioner combo is running non-stop to keep my living room at 64 (comfy for me, with a cuddly bathrobe). Thank heavens the electric bill is paid by the owners of my building!