Turns out Tom’s hip bone is infected.

I finally heard the results of the MRI that he had suffered through for two plus hours on the 14th.

Yeah, someone called us today to confirm admitting Tom into their care facility tomorrow.  Which prompted me to ask, “Huh?  What in the world are you talking about?”

To which they replied, “Uh, I dunno.  I just know I’m supposed to call you and confirm that y’all are coming tomorrow.”

Right.  Of course.

(This is where I started to recite in my head, “Don’t kill the messenger, don’t kill the messenger, don’t kill the messenger….”)

Thus began the rapid succession of phone tag, being put on hold, and talking to other ‘messengers’ that didn’t know what was going on.

Finally, I get a hold of someone with Tom’s chart which has the results of the MRI.  Which, greatly impacts our decision as to what plan of action to take, of course.

So they want to admit him tomorrow to start IV antibiotics, increase protein levels, possibly use hyperbarics and perhaps even do surgery.

Of course, we’re not thrilled that this was sprung on us so suddenly, what with the MRI being done over a week and a half ago, and us having to hunt someone down to tell us what in the world was truly going on.

Tom’s not happy.  He has no desire to be admitted tomorrow to hang out until next week before they decide on surgery or not.  Obviously, there are benefits to going in tomorrow, but I don’t blame Tom a bit for wanting to wait til Monday.

I don’t know what our definitive plan is yet, but we’ll be going into Kindred sometime soon.

And, just to make my life a little more… uhm, complicated?  Next week is our Cub Scout Day Camp.  Usually we’re staffed well enough that I’m just filling in blanks, answering questions and being an extra set of hands.

This year, of course, we’re short handed.  I was expected to fill the First Aid position.  Not teaching first aid, mind you.  Being the First Aid officer.  Gah.

I haven’t quite figured out how to be both places at once yet.

Isn’t it about time for Tom to get some good news?  Or at least some not-bad news?  Please?  We’re both starting to sink here…

Tom’s accident was caused by three manufacturing defects.

Three.

One.  Two.  THREE.

The deer stand was completely and totally the reason that Tom fell, head first, the 15 feet to the ground.

The deer stand was the single reason that Tom is now, and will most likely be forever, a C-5 incomplete quadriplegic.

There is no question in my mind that if we were able to sue, Tom would be awarded damages without anyone even batting an eye at the request.

Of course we tried to go after the company that manufactured the deer stand.

But, strange enough, there wasn’t a single mark on the obviously manufactured deer stand. Not one single number. Not even a hint of a letter. Nothing. It was looked over with a fine toothed comb, literally. No markings.

Tom bought the deer stand from a garage sale the year before. So, there wasn’t even a store to sue for selling faulty equipment.

(Did you know you could possibly sue the store you bought faulty equipment from? That’s what we were told, anyhow. Not that it matters in this situation, obviously.)

So, there we were.

Or, so here we are.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

There’s no money to be had.

No one to sue.  Well, no one we can find, anyhow.

No company to be able to curse.

No way to warn anyone else against using ‘this brand’ deer stand.

Sometimes I feel that, since people know how Tom got hurt, they assume there is a settlement check attached to Tom’s name.  Sometimes I feel that people don’t realize that a monthly disability check isn’t like winning the lottery.

I know money doesn’t solve the problems of the world.  But, it sure would help to make our lives easier.

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So, if you’ve been watching me on facebook, you’ve noticed that Tom’s had a hell of a time last month. Thank God May is over. Let’s hope that we never have another May 2010 again.

Tom’s stuck in bed with a horrible pressure wound. Our neighbors helped us figure out a way to get Tom outside on an air mattress, thankfully. I call it Tom’s palace. I feel its fit for royalty!

The first day the palace was built, though, we didn’t get him out because it was too hot and Tom wasn’t feeling up to moving around. The second day, we had to take the palace down because of a storm that came through… of course, the storm lasted all of 20 minutes. And, then, the humidity and heat kicked up again. Today looked like rain all day long, which made us hesitate to put the palace back up again. We honestly can’t wait to use it… but we’d hate to get out there and get stuck in the rain!

I’ve found some photo booth software online for $40. It can be personalized per event and can be uploaded directly to the internet or printed off. I’m super stoked about this, and can’t wait to find $40 to buy it for Fowler Fest.

How much would you pay for photo booth pictures, btw?

My domain is coming up for renewal, and I can’t quite find the change to renew it yet.

The van’s licenses are due, which also means its time to pay my personal property tax. (Yes, I know they’re due at the beginning of the year… I never have the money to pay them then. And, the penalty is minimal.)

So, I guess I’m just waiting for someone to shake the money tree over us.

Past that, we’re chugging right along.

I’ve learned that, even though you might be a quadriplegic, you will still feel miserable after abdominal surgery.

I have learned that I should definitely NOT take a nap before making sure I’ve filled any prescriptions sent home from the hospital for Tom.

I am still aware that sleeping in a hospital sucks. No matter how comfortable they attempt to make the patient and guests feel, sleep is a luxury.

I’ve been told that Tom could still achieve 6 pack abs, if he worked on it. This is something that I didn’t know to be possible after abdominal surgery.

I’ve learned through google that it takes approximately 6 weeks to recover completely from this surgery. Information that might of been useful to know before hand…

I’ve realized that, even though I really do love my job, its much harder to appreciate when dealing with lack of sleep and being overly busy.

I’ve found out that no matter what I pack to bring to the hospital to entertain myself, I rarely am satisfied with my selection and wished I had brought something else.

I’m reminded that doctors don’t care if you’re completely asleep when they come in during rounds. They’ll still talk to you and give you vital information, whether or not you’ll really retain it. The sooner they’ve seen all their patients in the hospital, the sooner they can move on with their busy day at the office.

I’ve learned that once out of ten times smoking a cigarette on a non-smoking hospital campus will result in someone asking you to put out your cigarette. And, if you hide in your van, they don’t bother you.

I’ve noticed that hospital room doors are loud, and feel that should be changed immediately. No nurse can peek her head into your room without making a noise that will jar you awake.

I am not sure that the nurses are aware how quiet their knock on the door is, though. Most of the time, I barely heard them knocking… Give the door a nice hard thunk, would ya?

I’ve found that I have no issue perusing through cabinets and drawers at hospitals if I’m looking for a drinking straw, tape or a wash cloth. And, if there is no door to a room, it must be an all access area, right?

And, lastly, I’m again reminded that hospital pillows suck big butt, and need serious improvement. You’d think with the ability to put a man on the moon, we’d be able to create a hospital pillow that is actually… oh, I dunno, pillow-like?

Not that I post here regularly anyhow, but I thought I’d remind everyone that tomorrow Tom will be going in for surgery and could be admitted for up to a week. Of course we’re hoping he’ll be home by Friday. That would be ideal.

I might be able to sneak onto twitter or facebook sometime through this period, but will have to sweet talk Tom out of one of his devices.

I meant to go to the library to check out some books to fill my time, but I didn’t make it there. In fact, I’m not sure I even have enough clean clothes to pack…

So, uhm, yeah, maybe I should get outta here and start checking into that crap. Normally our hospital visits aren’t really planned, so I don’t necessarily have time to make myself a bag of clothes and stuffs… this might be a little entertaining.

Whoo-hoo, oh 6 AM, how I despise you. You better greet me happily and without troubles, otherwise you’ll have one pissy chick on your hands!

(PS – if I do twitter from my phone, I don’t get responses sent back. I don’t have unlimited texts, so thats probably wiser for me anyhow. And, I might just strive to update Tom’s facebook since its already all loaded up on his phone and everything. At the very least, I will be emailing Shannon, who has access to all my internetty crap, and ask her to put out a word for anyone who is curious.)

(PPS – OMG with the neighbors and the constant revving of their engines… Fun once, eh twice, all night long… overkill.)

In some respects, I’m very much a girly girl.

I love a good pair of shoes (although I rarely get to buy any).

I enjoy a nice mani/pedi when I happen to stumble into a surplus of change.

I like good smelly’s, like lotions and sprays and whatnot.

Yet, in other aspects, I’m so not a girly girl.

I can barely put my hair in a ponytail.  Anything more advanced than that, and I’m completely clueless.  Blow drying my hair with a circle brush is near impossible – my hands just don’t know how to do those motions!

I wear make up only on special occasions, or when I’m crazy super bored.  Like, crazy super bored. And, I don’t understand most concepts regarding make up.  If there isn’t a diagram, or a video tutorial, learning it does not compute.

So, with my sister getting engaged, and knowing money doesn’t grow on trees, I’ve decided to try to improve on the girly girl qualities that I’m slacking on.

I bought some hair spray and some mousse.  I don’t know what I do with these items, but they’re now in my arsenal.  Maybe one day I’ll try playing with them.  I’ll make sure to get some before and after pictures (and maybe some during photos too) of that whole event.  I’m positive it’ll be very entertaining.

Today, though, I worked on my eyeshadow skills.  I’m trying to get more comfortable with a multi-color application.

Thankfully, Covergirl has helped girls like me by not only writing clearly on the package that, ‘Hey, this color pallet is perfect for brown eyes’, but there is also a diagram on the back explaining exactly where and how to apply these shades.  If only the rest of make up products had diagrams on the backs of them, I might be good to go!

Anyway – I thought I’d show you my experiment on my eyes.  I know you’re interested.

(PS – Any pointers, positive or negative remarks are appreciated.  I’m learning here!)

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Who doesn’t love waking themselves up to the sound of grinding their own teeth?  I mean, its better than waking up to any other noise, right?

Okay.  Just kidding.

I’m not exactly sure when this whole teeth grinding thing started for me.  I know it was a little while after I started my anti-anxiety meds, for sure.  I remember thinking that bruxism is a sucky side effect, if it were one at all.  And, I also remember thinking that if I had health insurance, I’d make a follow up appointment with the nurse practitioner and ask her about it.

But, as you probably know, that didn’t happen.

Instead, I’ve been buying mouth guards from Wal-Mart.  Which, in itself, isn’t a horrible idea.

Except they cost, at minimum, $25 a piece.

Now, technically, these devices are supposed to last for a great deal of time.  So, the cost shouldn’t be a big deal.

But – and of course there’s a ‘but’ – for some reason, while I’m sleeping, I must chew on the mouth guard like its bubble gum.

A mouth piece that is supposed to last 1/2 a year sometimes doesn’t even make it a month for me.

If I were to go without a mouth piece, the grinding of my teeth would not only wake me up, but it causes headaches, jaw pain and is just all around bad for your teeth.

I need to find a cost effective solution, and I’ve yet to come across any.

Perhaps if I just pull out my teeth out…?  Its not like I have dental insurance to care for them properly anyhow, right?!