How About an I O U

I just woke up and came down for some oatmeal & realized that I've been sick for so long that I haven't been able to update. As I'm eating, hacking, sneezing and aching, here's what I've been up to:

The past 5 days have been spent lying in bed, sleeping, waking up taking more Nyquil & sleeping again. I haven't been this sick in a LONG time. But now is definitely not a good time, I'm a last minute shopper.

I don't think my family will accept IOU's under the tree.

Hopefully after another full day of sleeping I can shake this Flu and get out in the Christmas Eve rat race.

Off to bed!

I Got Ripped Off!

It was one of those typical Sunday mornings...rushing around, trying to clean the house before church so it would be ready for the Open House and then I literally got ripped off!

Here's how the day stacked up:

1. Clean the house~
2. Go to church~
3. Hurry home to grab the dog~
4. Go to dog beach/downtown for 4 hours during the Open House~
5. Come home, drop the dog off and head to the kids basketball game~
6. After the game, run to the store for drinks & then over to my hubby's ex-wifes house for Dillons 18th birthday dinner~

It was just a typical day for us...RUN, RUN, RUN.

Now in between dropping the dog off at home and heading to the basketball game, I noticed something was missing.

I ran upstairs to take my vitamins & prescription meds.

I had an emergency hysterectomy when I was in my 30's due to endometriosis...I almost died (CLICK HERE TO READ THE STORY). So I've been taking hormones daily ever since. I also had some pills for a cough that's been lingering from the flu/cold.

I usually put my basket of vitamins/meds away before the Open House, but I was running late so I left it on my dresser. I went to dig down to the bottom of the basket & the Premarin & cough medicine was gone. I looked around, thinking, "Where could they be...they're always here? No, someone couldn't have stolen them?"

That's when I noticed that the bathroom cabinet was open & my husband said the downstairs cabinet was also open with stuff out.

Someone totally had stolen my meds!!!

How creepy is that? Someone was rummaging through our things!

Our Realtor felt so bad. She held the Open House alone and we have three stories. She said it was packed the entire day, she couldn't walk through the house with everyone because then no one would be downstairs when people got there. She said that nothing like that has ever happened at any of her Open Houses before.

I guess I should feel lucky that's the only thing they took...but I still feel violated!

Guess there's a lot of desperate pill freaks out there who need female hormones!

Last Day of Vacation

I've been in Utah for the Holidays...first vacation in 3 years! I can't believe how the time has flown by. We've had such a great time hanging out with everyone, even though we ALL got sick. I was so excited because everyone else got sick and I thought I escaped it. But NOOOO my sickness waited until last night on my 9th year wedding anniversary.

We had booked a room in a hotel up in Park City. Just the two of us on a romantic mountain getaway. We had reservations at a great restaurant and then were planning on going to a jazz club after to ring in the New Year.

I woke up in the morning barely able to move and finally dragged myself out of bed at 12:00 p.m. We got to the hotel, after stopping to get me some cold and flu medicine. We ate a quick dinner at the hotel restaurant (too sick to get dressed up and go anywhere else) and then my romantic evening was spent layed out in my sick bed, while my husband had to make two trips out to the car in the FREEZING weather to get me water bottles! Poor guy, he wasn't to happy...but he always takes care of me.

Today I'm doing much better, and it's a good thing because we have a long drive tomorrow!

I'll post lots of pic after we get home.

HOME CURES FOR A COUGH

My middle son had pneumonia when he was four months old. This contributed to a weakened immune system his whole life. The minute he would get a little bit of a cold, it would go straight to his chest. After several years of constant trips to the doctor for bronchitis, at 4 years old I started treating the cold/cough at the first onset of symptoms. I would immediately boil water and make a "croup tent". I would let it cool down a little bit, then put it in a bowl, take a large bath towel and have them lean over the bowl with the towel over their head (holding it out like a tent), this holds in most of the steam. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO NOT LET THEIR HANDS OR FACE GET TOO CLOSE TO THE BOWL! Have them take in deep breathes of steam. You will have to give them a break after a few minutes, then repeat the steps. They will immediately start to cough as they take in the deep breathes, just have them continue doing it, it will subside. The next step is to rub warm (not hot) Vicks on their chest and back. Make sure you rub it all the way down to where their lungs are on their back. Put a t-shirt on and put them to bed.

It can be a little tricky at first, but after doing it a few times, it becomes very simple and it seems to work better than a humidifier. Make sure that you do this procedure at the very FIRST signs of a cough.

This has saved me a lot of time and money. I still do this for all of my kids and stepkids, even now that they are teenagers, they don't like it, but they know it works! I hope this information is helpful and will save you trips to the doctor also.

The Hidden Danger of Endometriosis

I suffered for years from endometriosis and it almost cost me my life! Endometriosis is a silent, often undetectable problem for many women. I had been suffering from severe lower abdominal pain for a year. It became so bad that I started getting a fever and having trouble going to the bathroom. I went to the doctor who passed it off as some type of flu. He prescribed pain medication and told me it would pass. My stomach started to become severely bloated. When I went back to the doctor, he made me feel as though it was all in my head.

Finally, after eating a large meal one evening, I found myself hunched over on the bathroom floor, with a stomach the size of a five month pregnant women. The pain was excruciating and unbearable. My husband drove me to the emergency room. I was immediately rushed in and they stuck a large tube through my nose, down to my stomach to drain the contents. After endless tests, CT scan, MRI, Ultrasound and blood tests, they said they “thought” I had an intestinal blockage.

They took me up for surgery. After opening me up, they found that endometriosis had gotten outside of my uterus and wrapped itself around my intestines, thus creating a blockage. Two surgeons worked on me, one cutting away the endometriosis in hopes of saving that area of my intestines, the other performing a complete hysterectomy at the age of 34. The worst part was that if I had not made it to the emergency room that night, I would have died due to the toxins that were backed up in my body for a month.

I cannot stress the importance of listening to your body. If the doctors are unable to find anything, then ask them to look for endometriosis. I had little knowledge of the damage that endometriosis could cause to my health. I trusted my doctors to “see the signs”. I hope that my experience will help bring attention to the life threatening dangers of this hidden problem.