Family Updates

I started this draft eons ago - back in April, but never finished it as the "bad karma" continued and then the end of school activities kicked in. So, here it is...but I'll be updating it real soon.

April 2009:

We've been having a bit of bad karma around here lately, so I apologize for not being able to update more recently. Actually I guess this is early considering my past record! Anyway, it began with a crazy bus trip to Jefferson City that I attended with Lauren's 4th grade class. Short version is we had one teacher rushed by Ambulance to the hospital with a thyroid problem, our bus had an "air" problem which turned out to be the hydraulic brakes, so we got a replacement bus, then we blew a tire on the way home and had to limp up the exit to wait for another motorcoach. Then on the final leg home, I twisted my neck and aggravated my injury from last year, causing all my dizzyness to return in full force. Which led to MRI / MRA and continued doctor visits.

We've had a couple of deaths in the family, one very sudden and unexpected with the passing of my uncle Tom who had only been diagnosed 3 weeks before. And we mourned the passing of, and the expense of replacing, our only 6 year old washing machine. So in the midst of funerals we had no way to wash clothes, and I was making trips to mom and dad's and my good friend Amy's house to keep up. I now have a new washing machine that very appropriately sings to me when I start it.

Next came Jason's broken foot. Yes, the rip stick was involved. He has to wear a walking cast for 4 weeks then a smaller brace for about 3 weeks. His worst fear was that he would have to miss his band competition at Six Flags last Friday, but the doctor said he could walk as much as he could tolerate.
Here is a sample of their performance that day. Jason is the one with the ethereal glow due to his lack of skin tone! He got that from me - I always glow on the beach, one of the reasons I don't like to go! Here is a picture of him eating lunch at Six Flags that shows his cast.

The result of my MRA did not give me any explanation for the dizziness issues, but did reveal a questionable "kink" or "twist" in my carotid artery. I was told that I would need a CT scan to determine if this was the worst case scenario - an aneurysm. However, I'm allergic to the dye they use in the scan, so my doctor reviewed the options and decided to send me to a neurosurgeon for him to review the tests with a more well trained eye and hopefully avoid having to have the scan at all. Well, 2 days later she called me out of the blue and decided she did want me to have the scan after all. This call came at 8am so I knew that she had been thinking this over after hours and I told her that didn't do much for my comfort level. Her explanation was that then the surgeon would have all the info and we wouldn't have to wait for more tests if treatment was necessary. Again, being worried about time was not good for my BP. So, after premedicating with prednisone and major benadryl, I had the test and the good news was that it's a normal part of my anatomy. Nothing to be concerned about. So, while I still have dizziness issues, they won't kill me.