CRAZY CRAZY CRAZY!!!!

I find I  am once again in caregiver mode. I still cannot believe how crazy things have been here. My sister who is younger than me by 6 years has been so ill as I mentioned before. She has been in hospital for over 7 days now. I have been dealing with at least 10 doctors, including specialists, interns and therapists. Exhausting for me and for her. Seems that her meds are so strong they really are making her out of control. 

MY ADVICE TO YOU ALL:  PREDISONE IS NOTHING TO MESS WITH. Some people will have a hard time with it.

It may do the job but BOY is it hard on your body. It messes with you big time. Sis has had hallucinations, enhanced headaches, ringing in her ears, sensitivity to light and sound and all sorts of new things keep popping up. I asked the doctors and they all say that there are no other drugs that she can take and to get better she HAS TO stay on this regime. It may take a long time... WOW.. all of the sudden..we are faced with wheelchairs and canes and thank goodness we kept all of mother's helpers. I have had to rearrange things so that life can be easier for Sis to get around. Landing in the ICU the past few days has been hard. She knows who I am but other than that knows not much. Her blood levels so bad she can't remember her own birthday or anything. She is stable but still so out of it. I remain hopeful that she can get situated so that she can return home soon. ALL PRAYERS appreciated with great THANKS!!

IT'S JUNE ALREADY..

Sorry it has been awhile since my last update...
                                                 

                                                

June started a little crazy for us here. Doctor's visits, hospital tests and changes in every day living. Sister's condition went from simple to very complicated after many tests and consultations. Seems her immune system is compromised and now has to be reset with powerful drugs. I questioned the diagnosis, but with 4 doctor's opinions, and they are specialists, I agreed with their findings. Every day is a challenge, new side effects popping up. I have a watchful eye on her. This will go on for months so it keeps us busy with mapping out appointments on the calendar. I had a flash back yesterday to when I had to keep track of my mother's schedule with her dialysis, how hectic that was and how similar this illness seems to be. I find myself back in caregiver mode again, something I never thought would happen. I am glad at least I have the experience to deal with such an illness..
                                           

The weather warmed up and that was a blessing. It was time to put in the AC and stay cool. I purchased a very small one for just one room. Getting it up 14 stairs was no easy task, but one by one I did it. Securing it was another problem though. Old house and old windows..everything had to be re-enforced to make sure it did not fall out into our driveway. What in the world did they do in the OLD OLD days to keep cool without a fan I have no idea? They were tougher than me that's for sure.   This summer has been a cooler one than last year, easier to do chores and outside work is okay by me.

My tablet was not working, after three months using it, it decided it wanted to type words for me all the time and not charge when it said it was charging. I guess it had a mind of it's own. I called the company and paid the shipping to have them send me a new one. I got a call one afternoon ,after I sent it back, from OKLAHOMA...they apologized that they did not have the same model and would I like to try a larger size. YES, yes I would!! So they sent me a 10 inch size. Has been wonderful...comes in handy while sitting waiting for Sis in so many places. I still use the laptop every day, but boy I do love the new technology so much.  Hard to believe only 5 years ago when I had only a large desktop and monitor and no way to leave the room with it.  Love the freedom. 
Speaking of freedom..in case I don't get back here hope you all have a 

it will be here before you know it. 

NOT SO MERRY MAY...

Most who follow this blog and have been aware of all the life happenings in the past will be interested in hearing this.  The family member I mentioned before, who was ill, was my younger sister and she will be following up with a KIDNEY specialist soon for KIDNEY problems. She recently put on excessive weight that water pills would not handle. Having parents who died of kidney failure scares me a lot. I sure hope it is not going to come to us next.  Seems everything here is in LIMBO right now, we are in urgent mode and planning and testing takes time. Hurry up and wait I guess is how it will be. 

  May has always been a birthday month for us..Mother and Father's birthday was only days apart. Here are mom and dad when they were young.. taken in Tennessee. It was right after they were married, before they moved to Michigan. They left their families to go north where there was factory work. More money, better lives.
It ended up that we lived in Michigan and had no relatives here at all. We traveled to Tennessee to the farm every summer to visit them though. It was a beautiful place but not so beautiful to me. I have horrible allergies and when I would go there the chickens and hay and cornfields made my asthma really bad. I did enjoy our trips to the Smoky Mountains and the big cities of Nashville, Chattanooga etc.That was always fun. Sister and brother loved the farm, and brother went coon hunting and helped milk cows and chased the chickens. Life on the farm was sure different from city living.   

Mother's Day coming soon, hope all of you have a wonderful day. 

WHO IS IT???--HAPPY EASTER

In January I had that horrible spell and went to the ER and stayed overnight in the hospital. I knew full well it was going to cost a fortune. In my mind I knew I would deal with it later. So it's later..I am going through bills and getting more bills in the mail. One notice came and I thought it strange. I called the company and told DONNA I got a notice but for the life of me could not FIND a bill anywhere. She took some information and I was to call her back. I searched high and low for a bill. So I called Donna back and she and I started to work out a payment plan. In a few minutes of talking to each other she stopped mid sentence and said "Do you live in Lansing?" I said NO, she said "No wonder I can't find you..this is NOT YOUR BILL! Seems another person in another city was in the ER on the same day, same time and with my same full name. 
We discussed what to do and how to resolve the problem. I just hope I don't start getting bills from this other person's visit to the ER. How weird is that?? She can have all my bills though..all she wants. I gladly give them up to her. Ha!
                                              

My yard is raked and the piles were waiting to be picked up. Down comes the snow again. This time it was not so bad, I won't have to shovel it. The cold came with it, and after 70 the day before I am searching for my heavy coat again. You just can't mess with mother nature this year, she is fiercely hanging on until May sometime. I really liked the warm day we had, at least we got a preview of Spring to come. Sad to say the crocus that was trying to poke it's head got covered though.

Easter is right around the corner. I have not made plans this year, just trying it day to day for awhile. Hope everyone else out there in Blogland has a wonderful day though.     

  

MOVING ON

Making baby steps to a new beginning takes time and work. Like two steps forward and 10 steps back. That is what it seems to be for me these days. I just am tired of all the confusion and unknown factors.  I am making an effort to move again and do all that packing and sorting that one does. I will be so glad to settle.. for me I want to get to a nice place and stay for a good long while.  Don't know when..so I wait..
                                         MEANWHILE.......
A family member is ill and I am trying to cope with that and find answers. The doctors seem to want to test everything and still not find the solution to the problem. Meanwhile the person gets sicker and sicker. Sad to say I have voiced my opinion to some of the said DOCTORS and have gotten those looks. YOU know what ones those are..." YOU know nothing...I KNOW IT ALL." Oh if they only WOULD listen.  We are on..let's see doctor number 4 now...hmmm maybe they all ought to get together for a consult.. Geez.. it's enough to make a person go crazy. 
                                         MEANWHILE.......
The weather is better so outside I can walk and work in the yard and try to forget all the stuff that is cluttering my mind. Easter is coming and usually I look forward to fixing a nice dinner and visiting with family. This year..not so much. We just want to keep ourselves going any way we can. HAPPY SPRING..the rains are here and the snow is GONE..except for those nasty big dirty piles in parking lots.. Hope that is the last of it til DECEMBER!!!      HAPPY SPRING FINALLY!!