AN EASIER WAY!

In the fall of the year there is the task of raking the leaves up and disposing them in a landfill. This job I wrote about in earlier writings and thought we had a slick way of doing it with our equipment, but one fall I noticed our neighbor starting after we started and ending before we got ours done and bagged to take to the dump. He was completely finished and no bags to dump. Yes, they had a tractor that pulverized the leaves and they remained to fertilize the lawn. Since our "slick" way was getting harder and harder each year as we were getting older, I thought this truly was a much easier way. Over winter, the thought eluded my memory. I had been in the hospital a lot and my husband was helping me with the housework this particular day. He was shaking out a rug and noticed that our neighbor was putting a sale sign on his tractor. He told me that he thought they were selling their tractor. Our neighbor had just walked in the house and his phone was ringing. Yes, it was for sale and I told him that we were quite interested. We went over to discuss the price and bought it within a half hour. Our neighbor said it was the quickest he had ever sold anything. Now to top it all off, we had transferred the exact amount of money into our checking account to cover the tractor a few days earlier. Just one more sign that it was a right decision for us at this time in our life. Thought--Since we didn't know how many years we would be able to do our own yard work, we didn't think buying a new tractor would be wise, but getting a fairly new used tractor was just perfect. God knows our needs and supplies those needs before we ask. PTL!

UNFORGETABLE ER EXPERIENCE!

Last posting I wrote about Macrobid medicine and how I felt that it is a "WICKED" drug and should be off the market. This particular ER visit was right after the Urolgist nurse informed me that I was highly allergic to Macrobid medicine. I had all the side effects of Macrobid medication and had gone to the hospital ER that my Urologist worked from. He did not make hospital calls at the previous hospital that I spoke about in my previous writings. Bad decision on my part. The personel was fine at the new hospital but as things proceeded, I found out that this hospital had a different set of rules/codes. Since I had not had any problems from my other ER experiences, I was appalled at what happened this night. After they determined that I was dehydrated and could not drink/swallow or take my pills, they told me that I was going to be admitted. They had only given me a 1/2 bag of liquid in the ER even though I could not keep any liquids down for 3 days. I questioned this, and they said it was doctors orders. My family (husband and daughter) decided to go on home knowing that I was being admitted. No sooner than they had left two doctors from the hospital came into my room. Their purpose was to persuade me togo home and not be admitted afterall. Mind you that I could not swallow no more than a tablespoonful of water (if that). One doctor squatted down and told me that I could NOT AFFORD to be admitted. He said it was way TOO EXPENSIVE and that I did not want to be admitted. I listened and did not say anything since I had no problem prior to my visits at the other hospital and knowing I had Medicare and supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare didn't pay. Then the other doctor started in and told me that I did not want to be admitted because there were sick people in there and GERMS ALL OVER THE HOSPITAL. Again, I just listened. You do have to be rather stupid not to know that SICK people are in the hospital and possibly MAY have a few germs. Isn't that where sick people go? Since I didn't respond to any of their attempts to presuade me to go home, they asked me if I had anybody to come pick me up? This is when I responded and told them that I was not about to call my aged husband back up to pick me up after they just informed me that I was being admitted. I told them that he didn't drive well at night and he would also be ANGRY since the last he knew I was being admitted. Just as I was explaining this to them, the door opened and a couple nurses entered with a wheel chair to take me up to my room. Which by the way, my Urologist said that I could either be admitted or go to ER. We opted ER since we would have immediate attention to my problem. The nurse saw these two doctors and I could tell she was a bit frustrated. One of the doctors said, "OH! I SEE YOU ARE BEING ADMITTED!! The nurse than said, "This patient can't keep water down on her stomach and take her medication and SHE IS BEING ADMITTED." When I got to my room they hooked me up to IV and settled me in. The next day I found out that I had not been admitted afterall. STRANGE! Here I was in a bed and everybody told me I was admitted and then they told me I wasn't. What kind of system is this hospital running? My questions to all of this is---Where did these doctors get their training? Was it the same school that Dr. Kervorkian went to? Did they not take an oath to preserve life? Is this kind of treatment what we can expect in the years to come under the new Obama care? Thought--In my mind, had I gone home without drink and fluids, I would have died. Maybe they were thinking that I had lived long enough and they determined this was the end. This certainly was not the feeling I got from the other hospital in the same city. I felt they CARED. MAKE SURE THE HOSPITAL YOU SELECT HAS THE PATIENT'S INTEREST AT HEART AND NOT THEIR POCKETBOOK!

MACROBID, NITROFURA MONO

This past year hasn't been a pleasant experience. After 5 trips and 5 hospital stays, I found out what my problem was. Each time I went in to ER I had the same symptoms. During the day I felt great, other than I had developed an urinary infection. Each time I was prescribed antibiotics to get over the infection. Unbeknown to me or any of the doctors, I was allergic to these pills. These particular strains of antibiotic are "WICKED". I would not recommend taking these under any circumstance. It makes one think they are having a heart attack. Chest hurts, hoarseness, fever, glands swell up, fever and totally sick. After going through all the heart related tests, I was keenly aware that this wasn't what my problem was. Finally, the last trip, I was told by the Urologists nurse that I was allergic to the medicine. I thought, if I was allergic that day, I was allergic each time I would take the antibiotic. All the dots lined up and after checking with the pharmacy records, each day I purchased this antibiotic, I would enter ER a couple hours later.

Macro bid comes in different names, but basically the same medicine. I am putting this on my blog so others will be aware of the hazards. Keep records of your medicines that you take and the effects they have.

MAGGIE--OUR CAIRN TERRIOR

Pets have a special place in one's life and they soon touch your heartstrings. Maggie was just that kind of a pet. She was our daughter's family dog and passed away this week. We would keep her at our house when they needed to be gone for awhile. Maggie would come bouncing in like she was so glad to see you. She would wait by the bedroom door for a early morning greeting. Maggie gave unconditional love to the family. I guess that is why God created dogs. No matter what, Maggie would always have a wagging tail to say, "I love you". A person could be down and Maggie could lift your spirits. Her presence is gone, but the memories that she gave to their family, and extended family will always be cherished.

When Maggie was less than a year old she nearly died, and we went to see her at the dog hospital. She was so sick that she could hardly stand up, but she knew we were there and I'm sure this helped her get well.

Another time, we stopped by to see our daughter and she wasn't home, and I told our granddaughter we would drop back. As we were parking, my husband saw the dog catcher go by their home. We left immediately and turned the corner and there was the dog catcher with "Our Maggie" under his arms. I jumped out and said, "Maggie, is that you?" The dog catcher let her down and she pitter pattered home. I said, "Maggie you sure got yourself into some hot water now". She didn't have her dog tag on and our granddaughter showed the dog catcher her tag. Whew! That was a close call! Maggie was playing in the neighbor's back yard with their dog and found a hole in the fence and got out.

Maggie had quite the personality, and could cause one to laugh at her antics. She will be missed. I believe that God will have our pets in heaven waiting for us, as He so loves us and wants us to be happy. So Maggie, greet us when we get there!

IT'S NEVER WRONG TO DO THE RIGHT THING!

Since Thanksgiving, I have managed to go back to the hospital. Not exactly where I would have wanted to be, but it is good to be there when you become sick. I'm back home and recuperating. Hopefully, I won't have to return for awhile. A few days before I came home, I was walking the halls to build up my strength for returning home, and I looked down and saw an object on the floor. I picked it up and it appeared to be a diamond earring. It was set in an old fashioned setting and looked to be real. My nurse when I came back asked me how my walk went. I told her about the diamond and let her look at it. She also, thought it to be authentic diamond in an old setting. I gave it to her to turn into lost and found. If it was truly an heirloom diamond, the owner would be crushed to lose it, as it would have sentimental memories as well worth some money. Hopefully, the earring will be returned to the rightful owner. A nice Christmas present if this proves out to be the case.

Wisdom--It's never wrong to do the right thing.

WHERE ARE THE GROCERIES?

They claim that groceries are going up in price. Well, yesterday I went to get groceries and purchased $80+ worth and came home and put them all away. I thought that we sure didn't get many groceries for $80. Toward evening, my husband asked me if I knew where the paper towels went that we just purchased. No paper towels were anywhere to be found. I tried to find my grocery list and couldn't find the list to see if we had paid for the paper towels. Today, the list showed up in my husband's jacket pocket. He has been helping a lot with things since I have been recuperating from my hospital stay. I proceeded to check out the list and would you believe that not only did we not have the paper towels that we purchased, but there was ice cream, sausage patties, canned goods, 2 loaves of bread, 10 # bag of potatoes, 2 frozen vegetables, Hamburger Helper all were unaccounted for. Now what to do? This is rather strange. No wonder I thought groceries have really gone up and hardly anything to show for my purchase.

We decided to go back and speak to the the manager and tell them about our missing groceries that we had paid for. A gal was ahead of us with a grocery cart at the office. After she left I went up and told the lady that I certainly had quite a bit of groceries that I didn't get and paid for. I had no more told her this, and I turned around and the grocery cart was still sitting there. (This cart, I thought belonged to the gal just ahead of me in line at grocery store's office.) Would you believe it, it looked like all the groceries that I had marked on my list that was missing. I told the office lady, you know what, I think these are my missing groceries. She came out and sure enough everything that I had marked was in the shopping cart. Of course, the ice cream was melted, along with unrefrigerated sausage, etc. Mystery was solved so quickly and corrected. I had nothing to prove that I did not receive these items and was certainly glad that it was that easy to rectify.

Thought--I think that groceries are going up rapidly as our government devalues the dollar.
This, and many other necessities of life one will see rise rapidly. Will the government ever learn? It doesn't seem to me that they will.

ANGELS OF MERCY!

This past week was not one that I was over joyed with, but everyone has a down time once in awhile. Yes, I landed in the hospital and 2 1/2 days later, I was dismissed. Well, not for long, because I landed back in the hospital yet that same day, in the ER. I'm better, but hopefully I will try to stay out of the hospital. One week is enough of hospital life.



With that said, I had only positive interaction with the nurses/staff at the hospital. Hats off to these "Angels of Mercy". Most of these nurses work 12 hour shifts, greet you with a smile and helpful hands. I can't say enough about their abilities and hard work. Also, I had 2 priceless student nurses that will be their future nurses. The Nursing profession is truly a calling and the ones that I interacted with, held the standard HIGH. Sometimes, we over-look those that do other tasks. For example, one's that draw blood. My veins are really hard to get blood from, since they roll and don't want to get stuck. This one lady came in and drew 4 large bottles of blood. They had be drawn from 2 different arms each time. Each time, and each day she did her job efficiently and no pain. Sometimes, these people get unnoticed but she was truly good in her field.

The food could be improved a bit. They could get some of Paula Dean's recipes and then the food would be more to my liking. I might not make it out of the hospital, but I would die happily!

Thought--The scripture states in Romans 8:28--"And we know that all things God works for good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." No God didn't cause my illness, but can take that situation and turn it around for "good".