Good luckwith the cath, Frank!
I think I need a healthier family. LOL!
Coda & Tylar both have the flu. Coda got it Thanksgiving morning, Tylar got it last night. We're watching Rachel reeeaaallllyyyy closely. (Coda's fever gets kinda scary. He's been running about 103.8)

hey! I see you now :) happy thanksgiving everyone :) Frank, I keep callin but your phone is busy busy busy!!! Happy thanksgiving and fingers crossed for your cath. I hope it goes well!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I go in for a heart cath on Dec 12

why can't I see the blog :( its all blank down there.

Ronnie, yes. We made it down, but only stayed about an hour or less. Just had to make an appearance, y'know. The smoke was awful. Did we really smell that bad when we smoked? Ugh! Ack! Gag! But we did see some girl-on-girl make-out sessions. You really missed out. (I just love groupies. They make me laugh.)

Just so I'm clear about this......you may have to leep over your doctor???
I am sooooo confused.
but I sure hope everythings OK

Leisl, did you make it to see the band Sat night? Too bad the roads were awful.

My results came back earlier this week. Doc left a message on my answering machine. Everything looks normal. I am a little confused at one of his comments but can't talk to him for 2 weeks. He is on vacation. Must be nice.

Ed got straight As :)

connect the dots, LOL He might have. He was young enough to enjoy that sort of thing! Doogie Howser

Good news Tami!
I hope your doc didn't play connect the dots while he/she was down there! LOL!

YAY for Tami :)

doc didn't mention a LEEP, no. I imagine they will wait for the biopsy results. My doctor does not discuss the "what ifs"

Oh ROOOONNNNNNNIIIIIIEEEEEE!
Didja get my email? It's snowy & icky here so drive careful.

That's good news. Yay for Tami. (Biopsy cramps a little, huh?) Did the doc mention anything a LEEP?

there were spots on my cervix and they took several biopsies (owie). I'll know more in about a week. Doc said it didn't look like actual cancer.

Well, Tami....I hope so. Joe's Texas CDL came in the mail on Friday and Ray took it to him on Saturday.
Joe was glad to get it so soon and told Ray that he had a job interview on 11-17. Maybe he got a birthday present out of it
and got a job!! That would be nice.
Ray said my brother was happy staying at the YMCA and appeared to act and look less "homeless".

Maybe he'll get his act together now. It's hard to watch someone waste their potential, isn't it. :/ I mean, it sounds like he could really be successful if he wanted to.

Tami...My brother has been living on and off the streets for 3 years, maybe longer.
He is 9 years older than me. He'll be 56 on Nov. 17th.
God gave him the gifts of art and music and he chose to throw it away.
In his younger days, he lived in NYC and ushered at the Fillmore East
and has been a roadie/soundman for several rock bands. He did
a 4 year stint in the Air Force and learned electronics. For a long time
he was a "professional college student." I don't know if all his classes added
up to a degree or not.
He is into Tesla and theories of magnetic engines...(hopefully, to
put electric and oil companies out of business.) I think he wants
to save the earth and make money.

He sent us a thank-you e-card and he says he loves staying at the YMCA
and he is falling in love with downtown El Paso. (I've lived here 28 years
and I'm not even attracted to downtown!) Anyways, his Texas CDL
just came in the mail and on Monday, he has a job interview with
a bus company in Juarez, MX.

When my brother Joe showed up on our doorstep; he was hoping for me
to "Right his Wrongs." I couldn't do that because he had made his own
life choices. He was starting to take advantage of my Christian charity.

(It's been 21 yrs. since the last time I saw him, btw.)


Good luck on your test. At least you don't have to study for it!

Our granddaughter's middle name is Jade, btw.

Update. I go in for the test on the 21st.

Richard finally has a day off today and gets to get out and see the sights. I told him I'm fond of jade bracelets ;) Christmas is only like 39 days away after all!

how long has he been on the streets? Why is he homeless? I'm nosey. You and Ray are so generous, I can't imagine you putting anyone out. Must've been pretty bad.

Just a quick post....my brother isn't driving me crazy NOW--since Ray drove him to
the YMCA!!
Long story.....but, my brother wasn't too happy to find out that he'd been "left out"
of our parents wills. (Of course, if he'd have acted like a son, he might have gotten
something.)
Apparently, he came down here because he couldn't take another cold Denver
winter, living on the streets. He figured he'd live off of us!!

woo hoo mel. you have totally hot cholesterol (my god we are getting old or something)

george. I'm ignoring your remark. :p

Isn't labor and menstrual cramps about the same? As much time as I've spent in Labor and Delivery, I could find almost no difference in the vocabulary of a woman in labor....and one on her period. They both have the same "i'll kill you if you ever touch me again" look in thier eyes.

Okay - gotta brag. Total cholesterol 158, HDL 55, Ratio 2.9
Whoo hooo!!

they said it wouldn' t hurt.... is that like "labor is like menstrual cramps"?

Tams - I had a biopsy thing done for an abnormal pap a few years ago too. It was NOTHING, just wierd cells. Okay so I had to get 2 of them. It wasn't horrible except for passing out after the second one. (Keep in mind I am a HUGE baby when it comes to pain). Keep us posted though. And look at it this way --- someone is looking "down there" while Richard is away.
Geez, I need a man!!!

Just got a call from JD: Ashton is out of surgery & in ICU & doing great. They decided not to do anything about the holes in the bottom of his heart and were able to repair the holes in the top with just the sac around his heart. Yay! He'll be in ICU for couple days, but things look good so far. :-)

Prayers again:
My friends, JD &Bill, had a baby last year born with Down's and holes in his heart. Remember? He's having surgery this morning to try to repair those holes.
She just called me. They are just about ready to take him (Ashton) in to start the surgery. They will have to hook him up to the heart & lung machines to do this. It will most likely be at least a 4 1/2 hour surgery. The doctors are optimistic and say that if all goes well, he'll be home with his family in time for Thanksgiving. Let's pray it does.

And congrats on getting the inhaler. Good luck with it. Get lots of candy canes, too. I swear by those. And they're fat free. :-)

I know exactly what you mean. When the doc 1st told me, all I heard was cancer, too. I spent quite a while shaking & crying. Then I started researching & found out that it really isn't quite as scary as I thought ... and it is easily - and relatively painlessly - treatable. I mean it, if you want to talk or whatever, call me. And assure Richard it will be ok. I was even able to conceive & carry Tylar after having my LEEP. I didn't have the hysterectomy until 8 months after she was born.

dysplasia is what the doc said. I couldn't remember that until you mentioned it. I only heard about every other word after "cervical cancer is usually completely curable" Richard is kind of freaking out. (remember that his mum died from lung cancer a few years ago) He wants to rush home, which would be very not good for his career. He's the guy in charge of this whole release in Taiwan. I've told him that it looks like its not as bad a thing as it sounded like at first and that it seems to be pretty common. I've convinced him to not ask to come home early until we know if it is even anything.

I'm getting a prescription today for the nicotrol inhaler, btw.

Now breathe ... I've been there. It's scary at 1st, but really quite common. It's most likely dysplasia, a pre-cancerous condition of the cervix. (Boys: You can quit reading now if you don't want to hear graphic 'woman talk' ... don't say I didn't warn you.)They will biopsy it - it cramps a bit, but not too bad - and probably perform a LEEP, where they cut off & cauterize the end of your cervix. Worse come to worst, you'll get to have a hysterectomy, like me. :-) Call me if you want some reassurance. I know the uncertainty, but it really is ok. I promise. The worst part is the waiting & wondering. Call me.

and the worst part is that i AM taking care of myself dammit! I'm exercising, I'm eating lots of vegetables, I'm losing weight, I'm not drinking, I'm smoking LESS even though I haven't quit yet, I'm drinking decaf, I don't have sodas, or sugar, or processed food, I'm happy and not too stressed out. I don't get it.

I just got back from my doctor. I'll have to do some physical therapy for my shoulder. It's apparently a tendon thing.

She was glad I was in for the shoulder because she was going to ask me to come in anyway "to discuss my lab results". I thought that was kinda weird since I got my copy and they looked better to me. I had the good the bad and the ugly all mixed up :( last year my total cholesterol was 218 (HDL: 39 LDL: 138) my new results are total 242 (HDL:34 LDL:195) triglycerides were 202 now they are 65. I now have in my pocketbook a scrip for cholesterol meds (Zocor or something like that) This was all so incredibly disheartening after how hard I've been working with the diet and the exercise.

And my PAP was bad and I've got to go in for a something-oscopy (they're gonna look at my cervix with a tiny camera) and maybe biopsy if anything is odd. Doc said the cells from my PAP are "changing", whatever that means. My doctor is asian and sometimes I can't understand her very well. But she comes in and says "your PAP is back" only I thought she might have said "your PAP is bad" so I say, wait, you did say BACK and not BAD, right? and instead of her saying something like yeah, yeah BACK, she sorta looks down and then is all "50% probably of the women I see with your "condition" it turns out to be nothing. KRIKEY! I say... only 50%? what about the other 50%? what is it if it isn't nothing? and so she says, cervical cancer is curable, if the further tests show anything we'll move on to the next step then. At least I think that's what she said. If I had any spine at all I would request an "English is not my second language" doctor so things like "cancer" and "no cancer" are pretty much crystal clear. Because right now I'm at home with a husband in a place where its already tomorrow and my nearest friend lives like a hundred miles away and I'm pretty much thinking that I've got a 50/50 chance of hearing the big "C" word in relation to myself from my doctor and Richard's cell phone rings and rings and then some Taiwanese recording tells me what button to push to leave a message, I think thats what she is probably saying, but since I don't understand Taiwanese I don't have a clue. Clueless.

Holy Hannah!!! In one stupid, annual, always a pain in the ass for nothing, routine checkup - when I'm feeling particularly healthy thankyouverymuch - I get skyrocketing cholesterol, cervical cancer scare and "nuthin we can do to heal your shoulder any quicker" But hey, at least my blood pressure isn't any higher. At least it wasn't BEFORE the lab result discussion.

What Ray said! (Geez, Ray. Are we the only healthy ones here lately? LOL! *knocking on wood*)


My friend, JD ... the one who had the baby last year with Down's & heart defects ... is bring the baby, Ashton, down to Primary's on Wednesday. He will have surgery to repair his heart on Thursday. Please, say an extra prayer for them.

I'm TWO minions!!!!! I'm TWO minions!!!!! hehehe

Dang it all Tami, din't we all just agree no more injuries?? Just kidding, I really hope it's nothing, but still a very good idea to get it checked out. Be sure to let us know how it goes, we'll be worring till we know. In the mean time take it easy and follow the docs orders. OK?
we love you, dangit.

I'm a minion!!! I'm a minion!!!

I think the pain in my arm is more than I thought it was. I've had it for about a month. A couple of weeks ago at my annual check up I mentioned it and the doc figured I'd hurt my rotator cup and said I should just keep taking it easy with the arm, not doing the upper body stuff at the gym, no marathon cello practices etc. Well, at work this morning I was moving a file over in the file drawer to make room for another one and BAM the pain was sooooo sharp I almost passed out and was almost sick. I have an appointment for tomorrow with the doctor to check it out better. Meanwhile I just hurt :( I don't dare take anymore pain reliever because I already took a prescription aleve this morning. boo hoo

I'm playing an online game and need minions. Please click through the following link and it'll give me an extra soldier. http://www.kingsofchaos.com/recruit.php?uniqid=6njq2i95 You don't need to play...just click through.

George, Great to hear your home I musta just missed you this morning I called you at the hospital they had just sent you home. take it easy for a while

like I would tell you now.

Whose? *paranoid & looking over shoulder*

lol I thought the same thing, George. too easy. besides, there are lurking parentals heh

Mel

..................................Nah, nevermind....too easy.

(((((((((((George))))))))))))))

Now you just take care of yourself.
American Heart Assoc is a good info site.

I just got home from the Hospital. I feel ok, a bit tired. Doctor thinks we should try and treat my other blockage with meds and diet, seems my heart is overly sensitive to being probed. Since dad went through a similar episode, it would be wise if any of you ever have a cath to advise your doc . Thanks for all the kind notes and thoughts :)

Want news. Is George home? When does he go back?

Give George a thump on the head for me. No being sick and having heart problems!!!!
Eat your veggies, drink your wine(in moderation) and eat dark chocolate (better for the blood).

Le - you are just too funny. I still wanna know why the doctor didn't buy me dinner. I think it is the least he could do after sticking something up my bottom and down my throat. hahahahahha

(((((Nettie & George)))))


So, is he at EIRMC, then? They've got a really good cardiac dept there. Dad had his stent put in there. They also saved my friend Bill's life there when he had his heart attack. He's in good hands.

If you would like to give George a call tonigt the number is !-208-529-6111 room 413

Hugs to you all !!! George has to stay another night in the hospital :( I stayed with him last night he did pretty good and was wanting to go home today but with the scare he gave us yestorday they thought it was better for him to stay another night to keep a good eye on him !
He will be going in again for he has another blockage thats needs to be fixed :(
give eack other a hug for me I have given George enough for all of you many times :)
Nettie

George - glad you're getting taken care of. Mind the doc, mind the wife, and be so careful with yourself.

Ray - YAY! Stay away from bugs and eat more dark chocolate (good for cholesterol).

Mel - I had no idea you'd take "shove it up your ass" quite so literally. I'm glad you've got this 'scope behind you. (LOL! Get it? "Behind" you?) Let us know what the biopsy shows. I'm gonna keep worrying until then, y'know.

NOW ... everybody try to stay healthy. We need each other too much to lose even one of us. I love you guys more than any of you could even possibly begin to know.

Colonoscopy wasn't THAT bad. The EGD was not fun. I threw it up to get it out. Colon looks good. There were some internal hemmies. There were other nodules that he took to biopsy. Results to come in 2 weeks or so. I also apparently have a small hyadel hyrnia (sp?). Nothing to worry about yet according to butthead. I can't work out for 3 days which sucks but the break will be okay. Not sure why I hurt so much but maybe the biopsy will yield results or maybe I just have too low of a pain tolerence. Good news is that there was no evidence of IBD. I'll let you know once I hear something.
All ya'll take care of yourselves. If it acts up, check it out!!!!

I just realized I haven't posted the results of my last physical. Doc says I'm in excellant shape for a 44 yo male.
Strong heart, clear lungs, kidneys and such working as they should. The only probs I have is my GERD and elevated cholesterol. Oh, and toenail fungus. My knee is healing up right nicely from my lil bug bite, so there's no reason to worry about me.

Y'all please try to stay healthy, I don't know what I'd do without you. I love each and every one of you, more than you know.

and seriously you guys... we are so not old enough for all this drama. I love you all so much and it scares the crap outta me with all the heart stents, colonoscopies, diabetes, edema, medications etc. Especially you boys, I wouldn't recognize the world without you in it. Just knowing you're there somewhere means more to me than you know.

Take care of yourselves, family. I'll try to do the same.

I just heard from dad. George is alright and staying the night at the hospital. He will go home tomorrow. One of his heart thingies was 95% closed and so they stented it. When they did that he "coded" so they used the paddles. They didn't want to do anything with the other blockage after that so he'll have to go back in for that one.

And the rest of the story, since George just kind of out of the blue blogged saying he's going in for a heart cath, he was hunting last week apparently and had some pain so he went to the doctor and they figured it was a heart attack. At least he's alright now.

((((((((((((George & Nettie))))))))))))))))))))))

Still waiting for some news about George. Anybody heard anything?

I love pearls. He should bring some back for all of us.

I'm trying to convince him that pearls are lovely even if you're not a grandma. I prefer uncultured pearls. There's lots of pearls in Taiwan I understand.

What Tami said! Praying here, too.






Dec 6?!?!? Yikes. I hope he brings you back some great souvenires, being gone that long & all.

Hugs to Georgie Porgie today. You'll be fine. I'll say a prayer anyway! Check in as soon as you can!

He's in Taiwan launching a new cell phone service and he doesn't come home until December 6 :( Such a long time.

I would post 'em if she'd send 'em. BTW, Melvin ... how'd it go? When do you get the results?

I was gonna post that pic of Ra & her he's-not-my-boyfriend for everyone to see.

Sorry 'bout the brother, Cath.

Hooray on the window dressings, Tam. When does Richard come home & why is he in Taiwan?

Richard is in Taiwan :( It's tomorrow there. That is so weird.

I finally hung some curtains in the house this weekend. Did a drape-y scarf thing over the sliding door in the "snug" off the kitchen. Looks perty. Put blinds in the kids' bathroom and curtains over the sink in the kitchen. I got a bunch of sheers for the living room, but got the wrong size curtain rods so I've got to return them and get the right size ones. Doh!

What's your brother doing to drive you crazy, Cath? I mean, I don't know nuthin about having brothers, yanno (NOT)

My brother is driving me crazy! What's new with you?

you wanna post a pic of Mel's colon?

So ... how do I post a pic?

Tami - I am hoping for a few pounds gone after all this. Cleansing begins tomorrow. Lucky lucky me.

Exciting day today
Some freinds and me went on an extreme cache, we went to find an old cold war missel silo out side of town to take some pictures. we were met at the fence by a couple wacked out para-millitary types WITH ATOMATIC WEPONS! Bout peed my pants! they said we were tresspassing but we hadn't seen any signs. I did however get pictures of a geoid right next to the fence infact that's what I was doing when the wack-o-s with guns stormed the parimiter in their trucks and jumped out brandishing M14s see the log http://www.geocaching.com/mark/details.asp?PID=OZ0628

My heart specialist is now saying his eyeball may have been off when he said 60% and 50% blockages as I am still having chest pains.

They may be going back into my heart to place stints after the first of the year.