Me, Myself and Memories

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  Noreen 4:29 am on January 18, 2014 Permalink  

  Challenges on Stauffer #4 

  Today was the one-week post-op surgical appointment.  Wow, seven days ago at this time I had a fair amount of fear and panic coming home after the reverse shoulder surgery.  Having had quite a few surgeries, I never take it for granted.  They are all serious.

  This last week would have been spent in a swing bed at our local hospital if not for hubby Dennis.

  Bodily functions and aftercare are so taken for granted – until you can’t manage it on your own.  Bless that man’s heart as he gets a cell phone call at his afternoon get together with buds and immediately comes home after getting a call from my cell home.  A time ensues and then I hear “Hi Hon, I’m here” as he finds me sitting on the commode waiting for his help.  Now that is what is called enduring love.  Actually, there is a definition of a word that “does for others that which is not required, but done through ardent emotional attachment.” That word is “romantic.”  Yup, that’s Dennis.

  Today life just feels so good.  My vitals at the checkup were good, the Foley catheter came out, and the self cathing is back on track and I hear Dennis coming in from his afternoon bud get-together.  It’s time to think about us planning an evening meal.

   
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  Noreen 1:52 am on January 17, 2014 Permalink  

  A quiet day on Stauffer Avenue letting a few cat naps take over and letting the healing continue.

   
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  Noreen 2:39 am on January 16, 2014 Permalink  

  Challenges on Stauffer #3 

  Day 6 and it was a ‘red letter’ day.  A hot shower.  With the extra paraphernalia of the catheter all I was missing was a flock of little yellow rubber duckies.  Dennis got just as wet as I did but it was just great.  Beta-din good-bye.

  We went on to get several loads of laundry orchestrated.  Clean socks and undies – the world is good.

  I do have what I hope is one last less than “oh goodie” in regard to the extra issue of this surgery and that being the catheter I am wearing as an additional appendage.  Dennis and I made a total of two trips to the ER for catheter irrigation – one on Saturday  and on on Sunday. Sunday the ER staff said any additional trips for the same issue would not be processed favorably with insurance.  The message would be on my family doctor’s computer Sunday night for him to see first thing Monday morning that I would need a standing order with either the clinic or the hospital for the catheter irrigation.  We received a call this noon (Wednesday) that the order could be picked up.

  I am so proud of all the help Dennis was and has been with the multiple times day or night he has helped wrangling saline solutions, the syringes and all the ‘clean-up on aisle five” to keep the urine running while my right arm being of no help.  Come on – it’s pee, the most taken for granted bodily function by the majority of the world.  Only on Stauffer Avenue does it trump—–everything.

  I am going back to revealing of the hot shower.

   
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  Noreen 2:52 am on January 15, 2014 Permalink  

  Challenges on Stauffer #2 

  Day five and all is well.   An extra concern from the surgery is the fact that since my hysterectomy in 1991 and complications thereafter my bladder is now augmented – a portion of my small intestine was used for urine collection and I need to manually use a catheter to empty several times a day.  Being right handed and having a new right shoulder created an additional challenge.

  The surgeon knew that learning to self cath with the left hand would not prove successful as the brain is in charge of muscle memory and after more than 20 years Plan B would be needed – a Foley catheter inserted and remaining  in for at least a week and perhaps more for urine collection.

  Dennis and I arrived home from the Mankao Hospital the day after the shoulder surgery in time for a light noon lunch.  By five that afternoon we were checking into the St. James ER of our hospital – the catheter was blocked and needed to be irrigated as the pressure of bags and bags of saline coursing  through the body was demanding attention.

  Being under anesthetics during surgery and having a lot of drugs in my system had altered the rhythm of that bodily function. The staff at our hospital was great and with working through the possibilities that this would happen often we came home with additional supplies and an open door policy if needed.  The bladder augmentation using a portion of the small intestine containing the mucus found in that original tissue would always continue to slough off the mucus as if it were still in charge of fecal waste.  During my usual day to day living the small amount expelled each time I cathed caused no problems.  Surgery alters much and this challenge is being dealt with and kept in perspective. Having a successful recovery with a mobile shoulder is the target – the rest is just a bump in the road.

  In the real world it would be a God send to fall asleep and awake after surgery with attention being needed only on the surgical site and progress with therapy.  Being prepared for what presents itself is keeping an open mind.  We are amazing creations of our Lord and Savior and I do honor that God has given me the ability to be a steward of this body for continued service to Him.——my hunt and pecking on the keyboard needs a huge break.

   
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  Noreen 11:04 pm on January 13, 2014 Permalink  

  Challenges on Stauffer Avenue #1 

  

  Right Shoulder Will Now Match the Left Shoulder

  There won’t be a lot of text with this post as the fingers on the left hand do not like to do double duty.

  January 10th of 2014 my right shoulder was replaced with the reverse shoulder procedure.  The right shoulder was done in on the last days of October 2013.  Of course, with so many insurance changes for the 2014 year, surgical dates were at a “hurry up and wait.”  I went in on the 10th and came home the next day on the 11th.  Percocet really helps.

  The left shoulder was replaced in April of 2013, so the awareness of everything was still fresh in my mind and Dennis’.

  I’ll stay in touch and in the mean time I have a window cracked bringing in some of this great fresh air.

   
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  Noreen 11:50 pm on January 12, 2014 Permalink  

  Enjoying the Break in the Temps 

  There is nothing as enjoyable than wearing a lighter jacket in January.  This morning when I awoke I could hear the drip, dripping of snow that was melting off the roof.  There is a lot going on here on Stauffer Avenue and it’s time to close for now and take care of what is needed.

   
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  Noreen 5:26 pm on January 10, 2014 Permalink  

  This is an exciting weekend  Catch ya all… 

  This is an exciting weekend.  Catch ya all later.

   
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  Noreen 1:24 am on January 10, 2014 Permalink  

  My Wonderful Ole Cowboy 

  Last night Dennis had closed up the house for the night and then had a few fleeting thoughts of the ‘Dennis persuasion’ type. He ask me if I remembered that from our beginning we had within us half good and half evil.  Then he went on to tell me that, that which prevails in each of us depends on which of those two we feed.  Yup, that’s my deep thinker cowboy.  Ya gotta love a guy like that.

   
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  Noreen 2:32 am on January 9, 2014 Permalink  

  How Dare I? 

  

  For now – This cap goes where Dennis goes during winter months.

  As I was getting some laundry sorted this morning I snafued  Dennis’ Legend Seed Corn cap for a good washing.  Oh yes, it is the one with fuzzy ear flaps.  It was not given up voluntarily.  I am not sure how this winter cap was acquired in days of old – like fifteen years go.  Dennis and his brother Roger were each given one and you would have thought they were from a limited edition collection from Cabelias or Scheels.   This yearly event had the cap surrender to the Shout Triple-Action Stain Remover and then was immersed into the sudsy laundry water.  The important part of washing Dennis’ caps is to retain the integrity of the cap’s bill.  There is nothing like a coffee ground container to help shape and dry the precious cargo.  It sits on the counter as a sub had to be used for the day.  From the outside it still looks to be in pretty good shape.  The test will be if the bill and interfacing choose to remain attached.  It may become a beanie with ear flaps.

  I do not know what will happen when Dennis realizes that this winter may very well be the last that the cap can endure.  Hmm – I may have to check out ebay and see if there could be a replacement for future cold weather seasons.  If taps can be heard coming from Stauffer Avenue you will all know that everything possible had been done and a living directive was enforced by me and Dennis is in mourning.

   
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  Noreen 4:19 am on January 8, 2014 Permalink  

  It's Back 

  Of course it’s above zero and the mind freeze is over and the real world can again be seen.  For me today it was dust bunnies.  I did have the television on and as I was changing out the Swiffer and there was a blurb about a new site in the Minneapolis area called Color Me Mine.  There were just a few key words that made me stop to see what the buzz was all about.  Oh my gosh.  It’s back from the days of old.  Today it was marketed as Color Me Mine Pottery.  In my day it was a ceramics class.

  In the 1960s ceramics classes were the hot item.  Someone would have a kiln in their basement and offer classes for anyone that wanted to come and clean greenware (soft plaster images that had been poured in various molds).  I had taken the kids with me several times to a gal in Hutchinson, Minnesota, as I was working on some items to be used as gifts. After the seam marks from the molds had been cleaned from the greenware, they were painted and then fired in the kiln for a hard finish.

  After we moved from the farm and lived right outside of Buffalo Lake, we connected with Mrs. Schrup that also had a setup in her basement.  It was no small endeavor as the kilns required an electrical service far in excess of what a home would normally require.  The paints, brushes, and cleaning tools were all supplied to you when you came and picked out your greenware.  The variety of items in molds to create the greenware must have been quite the expense, and the price quoted to you was a price that had to cover all of the above mentioned tools, all the way to the finished, fired item.

  I know that today Kevin still has a bust of Lincoln and one of Washington that he did with Mrs. Schrup.  Carrie came with several times and may well have a bank. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if it still had coins in it from that time?

  For the longest of time I had not noted anything similar to the ceramics class, but today I couldn’t help but take note of this metro business in one of the malls.  Home-based crafts are indeed in the past as today there would have to be liability insurance, viable access, air quality inspections and on and on.  Gone are the days when people could just get together in an extra room of the basement for the sake of fun and sharing and for someone to make some pocket money as an extra income.