I HATE DRAMA!!! Get me OUTTA HERE!

At the risk of possibly upsetting some of you, I will begin with an apology. The past, uhhm, YEAR has been a whirlwind INTO a ridiculous DRAMA that I am incredibly tired of living. I have decided to type the details on my virtual "paper" so that I can share what everyone is asking, and have some semblance of understanding myself. Part of the symptoms of my anemia are confusion and memory issues, so rather than wonder IF I have included everything and/or everyone necessary I will write it out. Hence, my apology... I am sorry if you do not WANT the details, but this is for me - and those who do.

I will only start with THIS year. We moved in with wonderful friends who basically "carried us" while Ted was getting back to work in Missouri. We've been there since November 2009. On March 25, I had the privilege of signing a new rental agreement for THIS home on the lake and getting our keys - unfortunately, this was done with Ted in Missouri - working. He was not a part of the move, however, we were not wanting for help - I was amazed at the incredible group of servers who showed up and made the move happen very quickly. We moved all in on Friday. I had a showing on Saturday, and then began to pave a pathway through the boxes on Sunday...working day and night, hitting the bed, EXHAUSTED, around 3 a.m. each morning only to begin again in a few hours.

Tuesday night, we all went to bed early (around 10) with good intentions to "get er done" in the next 4 days. That is, get the house staged and ready for Easter when we could "relax" and ENJOY it! At 1:30 a.m. Ted called and said, "I'm hurt" - as many of you know, he fell. They'd eventually told him he had sprained his ankle and would be fine to travel home for the holiday but to return on Monday for work. He was given crutches and sent on his way Wednesday sometime before noon. On Friday, the corporate doc called to say "we think you have a hairline fracture". He drove back on Monday, taking James with him as his nurse, and went straight to work that night in great pain.

Tuesday, he had an appointment with the corporate doc who said he'd likely had a hairline fracture and that he was not going to try and deal with it but referred him to an orthopedic surgeon Wednesday morning. He was told he was fine for light duty, to which he was disappointed because he was in incredible pain. At THIS point, the doc prescribed him some Tylenol with codeine. Wednesday, the ortho came in and didn't even x-ray before saying "You broke your leg too, you must be in excruciating pain You drove to MN like that? NEVER SHOULD HAVE, could have died from a clot!" Then, after confirming with the x-ray, "Get your wife down here, you are NOT going back to work, cannot drive, and SHOULD have had surgery last week - when can we do it?"

You know, then, that I drove down on Saturday so that I could be there with him on Monday when they would fix his leg.

We have battled with workman's comp all the way through. Even to the point of them asking "When and why did you have surgery?" They keep changing what they will and will not cover. Now, they have cut his 2/3 TTD (disability salary while out of work) in half!!! We have just enough to pay our rent and maybe utilities. Ted was released to go HOME on Monday 4/19. FINALLY! We were so happy to be home on Tuesday night and both stared into the vastness of the lake out back.

April 1 we finally were re-instated with our family insurance. To which, Ted immediately said "You're going to the doc!" because we had been asking about some anemic tendencies just prior to coverage lapsing a couple of years prior. I went to the doc on Tuesday morning. Because of my symptoms, she ordered blood work and an ultra sound of my pelvis...the same day. We returned home and got a call saying "Come back, your hemoglobin is 7 and you must be typed and crossed tonight, for a blood transfusion tomorrow!" SOOO, back to the hospital Tuesday night, then home, then back again for 6 hours on Wednesday... all while we are still waiting for ultra-sound results to come).

Today, Thursday, Ted FINALLY got his OVERDUE follow up visit to the doc referred to here in MN. It was a 5 hour trip, and frustrating (because it just seems to be "the way" with workman's comp) but we learned that THIS doc is actually the one who DESIGNED the treatment that Ted got in MO!!! HOORAY! Someone who KNOWS what is going on!!! His cast and stitches were removed and he was put in a boot - now he can shower or bathe and is to begin in 2 weeks to put a little weight on it to hopefully get it to a 90 degree angle. Return visit will be in 3 weeks on May 19 for new x-rays and likely a referral to the therapist who will help him to learn how to walk again. Thereapy will be for 4-6 more weeks at which point he will, hopefully, be ready to return to work.

We got home around 4:30... (we left at 10:30 this morning) and made an early dinner and flopped into bed to relax. I'm feeling more "myself" now, after the transfusion, but I have to wonder if it could still be better.

At 5:30 my results call came.

"You have a 'Fibroid Uterous' and 'Right Fundal' which means you have 2 functional cysts on your right ovary. You have a non-functional mass in/on your uterous which has been there a very long time, and is likely the cause of your other issues. These are always benign. Your B12 was better than I have EVER seen in ANYBODY, but your Iron was terrible. Dr. is recommending that you see an OBGYN. You also need a follow up ultra-sound in 3 to 6 weeks. The next step is to decide what to do. It could be anything ranging from leaving it there to a hysterectomy."

I have a consult with an OB GYN tomorrow morning...

Will I EVER get this house ready???

Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happyyyyyyyyyy

I know, lately, it seems my posts have all been pretty negative. I don't mean for them to be. I am believing for the best. The wonderful weather here and the kind and friendly staff at the hotel are helping to pass the time. It's just so hard to watch someone you love be in so much pain and not be able to help. I KNOW that he'd be happier at home. That's what we're shooting for!

All the posts of love and prayers mean SO much. Thank you to everyone who is posting, praying, and offering help. We are sooh blessed with an incredible extended family - across the United States! 

This whole "Workman's Comp" thing is keeping me guessing too - I'm a pretty organized, figure-it-out and make-the-best kind of person, but it is frustrating and unsteadying to be waiting on someone else to tell you what you can and cannot do. We have attempted several times since Monday to reach "the appropriate person" but no one is calling back. THAT raises some concern! The other piece, is that when we do something we are told, i.e. get a simple prescription, we are met with "...we don't take workman's comp" - which means that everything is coming out of our own pocket. Not so easy to relax when you are forced to spend money you should be using to take care of your basic needs on the unexpected. "We'll be re-imbursed" I'm told... okay, when?

Today I am sitting at the table in our room-looking over my sleeping patient-out onto the sunny parking lot and wishing I could get him out there. Don't think he'll like it much when I make him use the crutches for the next "trip" to the bathroom!

The sign at the front desk says thunderstorms tonight!

...will we EVER get back?

"There's NO place like home...there's NO place like home...there's..."

Where IS home? I'm lost... Amazing how things can change in the blink of an eye. I wish I had some ruby slippers to click the heels together and they would instantly bring me home... *sigh* this could be a longer post, the updates are numerous!

We got our keys the evening of 3/25, and promptly moved everything from our "temporary home" in St. Michael. We were thrilled to finally be IN! Slept the night on air mattresses and awoke early to meet our helpers at the storage unit. Arriving at 9:30, and viewing all that our storage unit held (remember, we moved from 6,500 square feet of house to this storage unit - it was packed TO THE ROOF!) I expected a very long day...and it was windy and cold. The kind of cold that pierces your fingers until they go numb.

We are so blessed. I was amazed as every few minutes up drove ANOTHER vehicle, with additional helpers or trailers to lend a helping hand. I really didn't know quite what to expect, but it's incredible when God's hands (the people who love us) reach out and start to do their work! We had 17 people there. We loaded, laughed, and locked... as the last trailer pulled away from the EMPTY storage, I glanced at the clock. It was not quite 10:30! These incredible people had completely packed everything in just shy of one hour!

I was overwhelmed with emotion-Ted could not be there, and it was so hard. He kept calling to check in, but we were busy and I couldn't talk. I was confused with all the details that Ted normally took care of, but was directed to "stand here, and tell everyone where things go!" It worked amazingly!

As you can see in the pictures, 6,500 square feet of "STUFF" doesn't quite FIT into 2700 square feet, so now the task of finding "a place for everything and everything in it's place".

Two days later, at 2 a.m., the phone rang...it was Ted, he didn't sound so good. "I'm hurt...", "WHAT?!" I immediately sat up and shook myself awake.

Most of you know by now, that he fell from a four foot pipe at work when he missed the ladder. 275 lbs of body all landing on one foot (or ankle, as it were). The doctor had determined it was just a sprain and once he could pee in a cup (to prove he was not "under the influence") he could take the weekend off for Easter, but to return to work on Monday for "light duty" at 10%.

While home for Easter, enjoying the wonderful view of the lake (recovery is ALWAYS better with a lake, right?) We watched his leg turn a rainbow of colors...blue and purple the most prominent. Even to his toes, that were blue halfway up to the tips. Those of us watching were convinced that there must be MORE than what we'd been told. We learned that there was probably two "hairline fractures" in the ankle and when he returned he would be seeing the doc again.

He dreaded the long 9 hour drive back to KS, but took James with him to be his nurse. (an EXCELLENT choice, I might add!) Went straight to work, and was MISERABLE. One WEEK after the fall, the doc was ready to admit that he felt more comfortable referring Ted to an Orthopedic surgeon to make the final call. He prescribed some pain meds (FINALLY) and sent him back to work. Ted was sooooo discouraged, because they were saying he would not be returning home to heal, they had plenty of "light duty" to keep him working through the end of summer.

The next call was a different tone. The wonderful Ortho "knows his stuff" and hadn't even x-rayed before he said "you must be in a lot of pain?" Ted said "YES!" Doc said he would NEVER have allowed him to make the drive home (let alone twice) because of the risk of blood clots. By now, his leg was incredibly black and blue. Doc said to do another x-ray, but that he KNEW there was another break just below his knee. He also said, you will NOT be working or putting ANY weight on this for 8 weeks...to which Ted promptly shed tears. He KNEW the pain was worse than what they were saying before! Doc x-rayed and said "Get your wife here for surgery, ASAP!"

Surgery was Monday - today is Wednesday (TWO WEEKS since the injury occurred). Surgery took 2 hours. They gave Ted a "block" in his leg that was to help the pain for 24 hours after he awoke. I was given x-rays to keep, that showed what was done. Screws, straps, brackets...all in the ankle to help cinch the bones together so that the fracture below the knee could heal naturally. Now we wait. Follow up will be on Monday afternoon... it's a lonnnnnng stay in a hotel room. Thankful for the pool, hottub, and a vast array of restaurants to choose from for each meal. Getting tired of eating out...and wondering just what the heck workman's comp is for... We have yet to hear again from them since the diagnosis has changed from a sprain to, now, the need for surgery and screws. He's MISERABLE. Poor baby :( ...and I feel so helpless to do anything for him!

Still about a week of hotel living...

I close my eyes, and imagine myself in Judy Garland's ruby slippers...

"There's no place like home...there's no place like home...
there's no place..."