Another Wausau Adventure!

I cannot believe it has taken this long to get my niece and nephews together with my "adopted" nephews.  When Shannon mentioned a combined birthday party for Nolan and Madeline, I decided this would be the PERFECT opportunity.

So, yesterday we packed up Alan, Evan, and Owen and started the 167 mile journey from La Crosse to Wausau for a "cousins, but not really cousins" weekend!

If you are friends with me on Facebook, you know I like to quote the conversations I have with the kids.  Here's what our 2 hours and 45 minutes sounded like:

[On Highway 16 between La Crosse and Onalaska]
OWEN: LISSA!  Are we in Wausau?
ME: Nope!  We're still in La Crosse.
OWEN: UGH!!!  How much longer, Lissa?
ME: Almost three hours!
OWEN: HOW LONG IS THAT????
ME: It's like watching 6 episodes of Ninjago.

------A little bit of quiet time---------

OWEN: LISSA!!!!  How much gas we got?
ME: Over a half of a tank, Owen.
OWEN: We dotta go get gas, LISSA!!!!
ME: Not yet.  I think we'll make it on this tank.
OWEN: If we run outta gas Lissa, the van won't go anymore.
ME:  I'll make sure that doesn't happen, okay?
OWEN:  LISSA!!!!  We need hot chocolate.
ME: Yep!  We'll stop in Tomah.
OWEN: Does Tomah have hot chocolate?
ME: I'm pretty sure we'll find some.
OWEN: Right now?
ME: We have about twenty minutes before we get there!
ALAN: I have my wallet and it's got 22 bucks in it.
ME: Oh, really?  Were you supposed to bring that along?
ALAN: Well, I brought it in case we stopped somewhere so I can buy a snack or something.
ME: I think I can cover your snacks.  Save your money.
ALAN: Yeah, you have a job and I don't, so that's a good idea.
OWEN: ARE WE IN WAUSAU, YET?
ME: We have quite a while, Owen.

FIVE MINUTES LATER...

------ More quiet time after the Tomah stop! -------------

ALAN: I just CAN'T WAIT to get there!!!  I'm SO excited!!!  And I bet they are, too!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

OWEN: Where are we, Lissa?
ME: Almost to Marshfield!
OWEN: Aw, I don't like Marshfield!  I wanna be in Wausau!

[A few minutes later]

OWEN: WHERE ARE WE?
ME: Marshfield!
OWEN: We already been here, Lissa!
ME: I know.

[A few minutes later]

OWEN: Where are we?
ME: Still in Marshfield!
OWEN: I really don't like Marshgarden, Lissa!

OWEN: LISSA!  Your sister, with the spiky hair...
ALAN: SHANNON!  Her name is Shannon!

[Side note - she doesn't have spiky hair, but... okay.]

OWEN: Does her house have a bathroom?
ME: No, they don't have any bathrooms in the house.
OWEN: Where are we gonna pee?
ME: We have to pee outside!
OWEN: In the Marshgarden???
ME: Yep!
OWEN: REALLY?  Lissa, you're just joking!
EVAN: Yeah, she's joking Owen!  They have bathrooms!  And fireplaces!
OWEN: Do you have bathrooms at your house?
ME: Do you remember where I live, Owen?  [This is a conversation we had earlier in the day.  I think he forgets that I still live with them.]
OWEN: No.  Where's your house, Lissa?
ME: I don't have a house, yet.  I live with you.  Remember?
OWEN: Oh, yeah.  I forget sometimes.

-------  A Very BRIEF Pause in the Conversation ------

OWEN: Lissa, how did you meet us?
ME: I met your Mom at school.  She was one of my teachers.
OWEN: At school?
ME: Yep.  And we traveled to Belize together a few years ago with school.
OWEN:  I don't remember that!  When did you meet us?  Owen, Alan, and Evan?
ME: A few months after your mom and I went to Belize, I came to your house.  Remember?  We did some pictures and I liked you guys so much I talked your parents into letting me babysit.
EVAN: And she's the best babysitter EVER!    [[I pay them to say that.  Okay, no I don't.]]
ALAN:  She's more than a babysitter now!
OWEN: How did you stay with us?
ME:  Well, I felt bad that your basement didn't have anybody living in it, so I just decided to move in and your parents haven't kicked me out yet.
OWEN: That was a really good idea, Lissa!!!

-----------------------------------------------------------

I should probably quit blogging and feed the troops!  More to come, I'm sure!

"Now, what the @#% is wrong with you??"

Just because I'm all about my ailments these days, how about another ER/Urgent Care blog post?

Last night marked my 7th visit to Emergency Services at Gundersen for 2013.  This time, I was able to be treated in Urgent Care and didn't have to go to the ER.  After last night, though, I am going to seriously reconsider ever going in for a headache.  

Wednesday while I was at work, I had a headache come on very suddenly and it hit right in the eyes.  I took Ibuprofen and was able to finish out the day, but was completely exhausted by the time 8:00 finally rolled around.  I went right to bed after work and called in yesterday morning.  The headache came and went throughout the day.  Around noon, I dragged myself off the couch with the intention of going into Urgent Care, but ended up just doing a drive-by and ended up at Starbucks for a cup of coffee and a birthday cake pop.  If I've learned anything this year, a birthday cake pop from Starbucks is better medicine than anything else I've found.  

I returned to the couch in hopes of tackling my Christmas cards, which are not even out of the package, yet.  That didn't happen.  Instead, I slept.  And slept.  And SLEPT!  With the help of Google, I tried the ice pack idea and made the whole situation worse.  Finally, I decided it was time to go in.  Remember Natasha Richardson?  The actress that died after she fell skiing?  Well, I had a few incidents earlier this week at work that involved a few knocks on the head, so better safe than sorry... or dead.  

I believe in Christmas miracles and mine came in the form of two nurses and a PA that actually treated me like a human being instead of a lying "frequent flyer".  This was the first of the seven visits that my eating disorder history wasn't mentioned and I wasn't interrogated.  

They did a CT scan and everything was fine.  At that point, they decided to do a lumbar puncture (aka spinal tap) to make sure there was no bleeding.  I have now decided that should I ever give birth, it will be a cakewalk in comparison to some of the things I've been through this year.  

If you've never experienced a spinal tap, this is how it goes:

First things first, you put the beautiful back-wide-open hospital gown on.  Fortunately, the bra and granny panties could stay on.  You have to lay on your side with your knees brought up to your chest.  The doc sticks a drape cloth to your back and numbs the site.  He goes through the procedure and tells you things like, "you'll feel some pressure"and "tell me if you feel any pain in your legs".  

I like to believe I have a pretty high tolerance for pain, but the second he started, my vision went out and I pictured myself in a morgue locker.  What felt like an hour was probably closer to 5 minutes.  Somewhere in there, I felt that "pain in your legs" he warned me about.  He should have said, "If you feel like you're being electrocuted in a bathtub", but that probably would have deterred me from agreeing to this in the first place.  

After it was done, they monitored my blood pressure and let me sleep until the results came back.  I don't recommend napping on exam tables, but after something like that, even a cardboard box looks comfortable.  

All of that to find that everything looks normal.  I have migraine/headache medication to get me through the weekend if I need it and a follow up with my physician next week.  Unfortunately, we aren't sure if this is related to everything else that has been going on the last few months, or if it was a result of the work incidents.  

Today the headache is not as bad, but my back is pretty darn sore.  I walked the mall this morning to see if that would help.  Not sure if it helped my back, but it certainly didn't help seeing people in their retirement years flying by me.  

I would like to think this was my last ER/Urgent Care visit of 2013.  

Weekend in Wausau

Nolan, Madeline, Gunner all ready and bundled up to go cut down the Christmas tree!

Last weekend on Saturday morning I drove up to Wausau to spend the weekend with my family!  Shannon, Colleen, and I surprised Nolan and Maddie and took them to see Frozen.  I had the absolute pleasure of sitting next to Shannon for the 85 minute film.  Have you ever gone to a movie with Shannon?  The first 30 seconds of the movie, she looks at me and says, "Okay, this is already too much singing."  This was actually my second time seeing the movie, so I'm thinking, Oh, she is not going to like this.

Well, there was a moment in the movie that Shannon seemed to enjoy.  A line in one of the songs, "what's a ballroom with no balls" sent her into a laughing fit.  The only two people in the theater busting a gut: Shannon and Me!  I'm pretty sure the people in front of us, behind us, and next to us were ready to kick us out.

What I LOVE about hanging out with the Mudler family is they always having something going on, but always make time for naps.  And, boy did we nap yesterday!  It was awesome.  What makes napping even better is there are kids eager to snuggle.  Nolan, Gunner, and I crashed in the spare bedroom on Saturday night and I woke up with Gunner's head pressed up against mine.  Nolan had his arm underneath me and wrapped around my rib cage in an I'm-never-letting-Aunt-Kiki-go kind of grip.  There really is no better way to wake up.

  

Shannon has some Grandma Jean tendencies, I've noticed.  As soon as I snuggled myself up in the recliner with a blanket and a 5-year-old lap warmer, Shannon comes out looking like this:

Apparently, it is that time of year when we rearrange the entire house and prepare for the Christmas tree.  So, there I sat in the recliner watching all of this crazy cleaning happen thinking to myself, "it's going to be cold out there, but hey, I can be a lumberjack."  

After the prep work was completed, we bundled up the children in their boots, snow pants, winter coats, hats, mittens, and scarves until they were walking like Randy from A Christmas Story.  And, we ventured out to the tree farm to find the perfect tree.

NOTE:  Shannon had no part of cutting down the tree

Nolan

Gunner having a hard time getting back up.

My Current Health Status

Three months ago today I was discharged from the hospital after being admitted for metabolic acidosis and severe dehydration.  In the weeks that followed, I ended up back in the ER for fluids, rapidly changing blood pressure readings, and was admitted for a second time just over a month ago.  I dropped close to twenty pounds in that time and spent more time sleeping than awake.  Through this whole thing, I experienced a level of frustration I had never quite experienced before.  There are previous blog posts about all that and, quite frankly, I'm worn out from trying to explain myself.

On November 4th I had the absolute displeasure of seeing an endocrinologist.  I won't recap that.  Again, on the blog for your reading enjoyment.  So, last I posted about this, I mentioned that I had some lab work done.  The endocrine doc was pretty confident that everything would come back normal.  The lab results were posted and everything came back within normal limits, except for my ACTH levels.  In the weeks to follow, I received a letter from the doc.  He mentioned my insulin test results and seemed to be pretty proud of himself that they were indeed normal.  No mention of the ACTH results.  A phone call to his office was never returned.

In addition, I was referred to a nutritionist.  I saw her the same week I saw the endocrinologist because they all still think this is nothing more than an eating disorder, so a nutrition therapy referral was only appropriate.  I was lectured on the lack of protein in my diet, but was still able to prove through food records that I was not starving myself.  She put in a note to my doctor that she wanted my iron and some vitamin levels checked.  That was November 6th.  The lab orders still have not been put in and I have no more appointments scheduled at this time.  Not that I'm going to complain about this because I did swear off needles for the rest of 2013.  I am certainly no wimp when it comes to this stuff, but enough is enough.

As far as how I'm feeling, I have felt amazing the last few days.  I worked 81 hours in two weeks and it was the first time since this began in August that I have not missed any work due to illness.  I can tell I have put some of the weight back on.  Not all, but my clothes are starting to fit better.  Unfortunately, the better I have felt, the more I've been doing and I have realized how much muscle I have lost because simple activities are making me incredibly sore.  If this is the end of whatever this was, I certainly have a long way to go to get my body back to functioning at the level it was a year ago.  Like I tell the patients I work with, change doesn't happen overnight.  This wasn't a few days of the flu, so it's going to take more than a few days to bounce back.  And, I have been told I have the patience of a saint, so it's all good, right?

From the research I've done on ACTH deficiency, depending on what the cause is, this may not be over.  I have seen how fast I can go from top-of-the-world to can't-get-my-butt-up-so-I'll-just-complain-on-Facebook, so I know this current "high" could be short-lived.  I'm still checking my blood sugar "as needed" and occasionally check in on my blood pressure and heart rate.  I haven't been seeing the extreme numbers that I have had and I've only had my blood sugar in the low fifties twice in the last two weeks.  It's still a struggle to stay hydrated, but sadly I have become used to that.

It has been over a month since I've had to go in and visit all my friends in the ER.  I'm going to try and keep this trend going.  As a matter of fact, I wrote a letter to Santa and told him that all I want for Christmas (aside from the compression socks and motorized scooter) is to not have to go back to the ER/Urgent Care/Express Care for a LONG time.  I believe in you, Big Guy, so don't blow it!!!

Melissa's Christmas List

Someone asked me about my Christmas list and it isn't even Thanksgiving, yet.  I can't remember the last time I had a "Christmas List".  I love the holidays, but I'm not about the presents.  (I'm all about the egg nog, cookies, and spoiling the kiddos!)  Thinking about the year I have had, I thought about some things that I could put on my Christmas list this year.

COMPRESSION STOCKINGS 

Because every 31-year-old elderly woman needs a drawer full of these.  Not to mention, my list would be completely naked without them.  

BLOOD GLUCOSE TEST STRIPS

Because every 31-year-old woman who is not diabetic needs to have these on hand at all times.  Hopefully Santa's elves are good at making these because he'll have to sell Rudolph to pay for a pack of 25.  They aren't cheap.  Nor are they something someone would open on Christmas morning and be so excited that they leave a yellow puddle of joy behind.  Except for Melissa.  She'd do that.  

KIT KATS

You should not get someone test strips for their blood sugar without stuffing their compression stockings FULL of Kit Kats.  Christmas isn't Christmas until someone's blood sugar is 450 and they are passed out on the couch with A Christmas Story playing in the background.  

SANDALS

I have come to realize that I just can't have compression socks without some sandals to go along with them.  The socks are probably slippery and I've already been in the ER five times this year and I don't need any broken bones to add to my list of ailments.  

A SCOOTER!!

I belong in this picture and that is all that needs to be said on that.  Because I am working on a bottle of wine as I blog, I will say a bit more, though.  My scooter would be decorated like a cop car, complete with lights and a siren, and I'd pretend to be chasing these two.  The only reason I'd be a cop instead of something cooler is because then I'd have a box of donuts on my lap.  You know, just in case my blood sugar drops, I'd be ready.    

Melissa The Mentor

The YMCA Reach and Rise Mentoring Program has begun here in La Crosse and a friend of mine is the director.  When she took the position, I told her to keep me in mind as the recruiting for mentors began.  We had our first training session tonight and I'm super excited about the program and being part of it.  At the end of the night, we were given a homework assignment.  We are supposed to engage in some sort of child activity before our next session.  It should be something that we haven't done recently.  Something that brings us back to our childhood.

I have to cross coloring off the list because I do that just about everyday. 

I am guessing that wearing my 5-year-old niece's jacket does not count for this.  
And, if it did, again... I just did this less than two weeks ago, so scratch that. 

Breaking my toys and sticking chewed bubble gum in random places is also something 

I still haven't grown out of.

Again, eating candy and cake pops isn't going to count because I do that 

on a regular basis.

I could watch a movie from my childhood, but I watch them all repeatedly.

I did not realize how many "child activities" I do until I started thinking about it while I was driving tonight.  Just before the training session tonight, I was hanging out at the library with three little munchkins at Pokemon club.

Last night, we watched "Spy Kids 4" and made mac and cheese for dinner.

A few days ago I made paper airplanes.

"Ninja Kid Run" is one of my favorite games I have downloaded on my iPhone.

When I get to pick the flavor at the dentist, it's always grape or bubble gum.

"Old MacDonald" is on my iTunes and it was playing in my car tonight.  (I should note that there were no children in my vehicle at the time.  And I did sing along.  It's a pretty cool rendition of the song, actually.)  

I haven't thrown a temper tantrum lately.  I could do that.  Maybe tap dancing?  Maybe I could find an amusement park ride that I'm not tall enough to go on.  Now THAT would take me right back to my childhood.  

In the meantime, I'm just going to play a quick round of "Ninja Kid" and call it a night.  It's been a while since "homework" has been part of my routine.  Good thing this is something I can handle.  

Singlehood: The Latest Dating Disaster

I wish I had a dollar for every time someone posed the question, "Why are you still single?"  How does one even go about answering that?  If I say that's none of your business, I'm a crabby closet lesbian.  If I say something stupid like, Mr. Right hasn't come along, it means I'm a loser that doesn't get out and mingle and I'm being too picky.  When I answer, well, I have commitment issues, I am not a fan of being naked, and I like being single, it's a little too much information and the conversation turns completely awkward.

I have tried the online dating thing more than a few times with various sites.  In fact, a few months ago I decided to give it another go.  I always try to go into it with an open mind, but I don't care what the profile says or what the picture looks like, if the first e-mail/message is all lower case with no punctuation and poor spelling, I won't respond.  If how u doin is the best first line someone can come up with, I doubt I could sit through an entire first date.

So, my subscription was set to expire yesterday.  I had been e-mailing back and forth with someone and we talked about meeting for coffee, so we exchanged phone numbers.  Last night, I was snuggled up in a pile of blankets working on photo editing when I heard Sheldon from "Big Big Theory" say BAZINGA.  That's my text alert and it was a message from this guy.

It started all innocent.  How was your weekend?  What are you doing?  He is working on his master's in counseling and had mentioned that he was working on a paper.  Well, Sheldon's BAZINGA made me glance away from my computer to my phone and I was horrified to see two -- not one, but TWO -- pictures of this guy in his bathroom, full frontal nudity.  I've never deleted a thread of text messages so fast in my life.  In all of my college days, I don't recall EVER working on a paper in the nude.  Who does that?

There were a lot of thoughts racing through my mind.  Things like, do guys really think women like this sort of thing?  Which turned into, Oh my god!!  Am I supposed to like this sort of thing?  I wanted nothing more than to suck my thumb and join a convent.

Of course, I had to e-mail my oldest sister, Shannon, to let her know about her sister's failed attempt at a social life.  This was her response:

TO: SHANNON
FROM: KIKI
SUBJECT:  RE: Match.com Meets Craigslist

Just had my own little casual encounter. I've been on match for quite a while. Started talking to a guy...going to school for his master's in counseling. And...we have been emailing for a while and I have him my number . Got FULL frontal nude pics sent to my phone tonight.

Single for life. 

Sent from my iPhone

Lol! OMG! Don't give up...they're not all big huge perverts!  
By the way, I want to see those pics!

Shannon


If anyone needs me today, I'll be trying to trade in my iPhone because even though the thread is deleted, it is still contaminated.  I'll probably put on my bathing suit and take 15 hot showers.  Don't bother looking for my online dating profile.  It's GONE!  And, I will never be able to hear Sheldon say BAZINGA and not puke in my mouth.  Thanks, jerk.