Pauline is a Canadian artist whom I became enchanted with (her art) back in 2000. She is still on ebay, and here is one of her amazing pieces. Halloween will soon be here! Who know a red-headed witch would so flawless in a flowing pink dress! :)
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Friday, September 22, 2006
Pink Flamingo - ACEO folk art
I finished another one today! This weekend I'll list both this one and the sassy blonde on eBay. I had a peck of medical-related phone calls to make this afternoon (3 hours worth), and so I was only able to complete a small piece of art before my nap. I've got so much healing to do.... all I want to do is sleep. I rather like this one.... the bright colors make me smile.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Blonde & a Red Chair - folk art
I actually had enough energy to finish this self-portrait (in a sense) this afternoon. This is me back "in the day" at college. Me and my lttle black dresses! ... My wounds on both legs are healing and look much better than yesterday. Physical therapy will need to wait until next week, as I am still too weak. I cant tell you how wonderful it is to eat real food again.... Heaven on earth!
I found my doggie!
Finally.... I found a picture of my new chocolate brown standard poodle I will have some day. He's beautiful, eh? I want a girl, though, so I can have a litter of puppies. I cant have my own kids, so I might as well have poodle children. All I need is my own 1-story, 3-bedroom house with a flat, fenced-in backyard thats big enough for a pool, covered porch, sun patio, small greenhouse, and a garden. Thats not too much to hope and dream for, is it? Of course, I'll need to be able to walk properly again for that to become a reality.....
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Rough Road: Another hospital stay
Early, early Sunday at around 5:00am I fell again. This time, I slashed my left lower leg on something. Mom usually doesnt hear me when I fall in the middle of the night, but this time she did. I didnt even know I had cut open my leg (didnt feel it) until Mom started commenting on how blood was everywhere. I looked down and there was adipose tissue coming out. No doubt we had to go to ER, and this time it was not going to be N. Fulton Reg. Hospital. The SJH MD had no problem sewing it up, and he wasnt impressed with the wound until he saw the wound on my right lower leg from falling a week or so ago...... He consulted my ID doctor, who happened to be on call for the weekend, and I was promptly admitted. They started antibiotics and consulted the wound care nurses and ordered a MRI. I finally got to see Dr Knowlton on Monday morning! What a sight for sore eyes. I've missed him! Turns out, that Sunday morning fall was a blessing in disguise. More later....
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
This might be long...
I got home last Thursday from a 6 day hospital stay at St Joseph's with acute pancreatitis. I started feeling really bad Saturday evening, and so Mom went ahead and took me to the ER. I was so weak I could barely walk. The shit hit the fan as I was being triaged, and an unbearable pain came over my abdomen. I must've sounded like a grunting pig.... it was hard to breathe.... i was nauseated.... couldnt lay flat... my stomach was huge and bloated......the works. The MD came right away and did his thing.... they gave me medicine and oxygen, and finally the pain eased off a bit. When the labs came back, the MD came back and pressed on my upper abdomen right beneath my boob.... and it hurt! Bingo.... acute pancreatitis. VERY painful, and not something I want to feel ever again. I went back and forth between clear, fat-free liquids and a low fat diet. Every time I ate real food, I got the unbearable pain and diarrhea. What a big, fat mess. They finally said it was caused by the Imuran I had been taking for 12 years, but the only drug thats changed has been the steroids. (I personally think its that.) I also had about 40 lbs of excess fluid on me caused by the increased steroids. I had been trying to taper down, but every time I did I got those awful "nerve attacks." Dr Knowlton was out of town AGAIN, so Dr Gowda started Lasix. I lost 15 lbs overnight on one of the nights. I also had been told I couldnt get out of bed by myself. (did you just hear me sigh?) I wish I hadnt told them I had fallen 37 times since May 15th. So anyway... I was sent home on a fat-free liquid diet for a couple of MONTHS. How about you trying to eat jello, yogurt, pudding, ice cream, and cream of rice every day. Finally, I had enough. 3 days ago, I ate 5 grams of fat without pain. The next day I had 1 gram of fat. Today, the IVIG nurse (Betty) came and were discussing diet. I'm not getting any protein, and if I dont.... my muscles are going to start breaking down. So, Mom fixed low fat, sugar-free Frenchtoast (2 slices), and I think I went to Heaven during the 10 minutes I was savoring every bite - 6.5 grams of fat. I also ate a baked potato (fat-free). My abdomen became very bloated this evening with some "pancreas tenderness" so tomorrow will be all liquids with only 1 slice of french toast. I have been watching the Food Network on TV, and I dont know if its helping or hurting!! Tomorrow is day #2 of my 5th cycle of IVIG, and I think on Friday after IVIG my PICC line gets pulled. I'll know tomorrow when Betty comes. My new ID doctor (Dr Durham) is a card! He did all kinds of blood cultures and tests on me to make sure the PICC line was not a source of infection. His background is paramedic then RN then MD. He thinks we worked together on 5-west when I first got out of school. Definitely, he's seen it all.... and he's got the best bedside manner that rivals Dr Knowlton. I was blessed with excellent doctors this hospital stay - they were all fantastic! Zooming to today.... balance and muscle strength still are awful, and I am still dependent on the walker. I fell this morning (#37)... just lost my balance and fell on my butt. 5 months ago, I had a lot of padding back there, but I am losing weight steadily, and my booty still hurts from it. ........... The picture is from Flickr by a photograpger named Patrick Lavin. Its an angel from a cemetary, and I think she's so beautiful. Some photographers play around in photoshop and tint their photos blue or red, etc. This one is untouched and just stunning!
Sunday, September 10, 2006
I'm Not In NYC
Saw this on Flickr, and thought I would post it here. I will write and update my blog tomorrow. I needed a few days to recover from this past week.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Thursday - day 2 of IVIG
I took 35mg of prednisone this morning, and NO nerve attacks! I think I'll stay on this for a week, and then try to go for 30mg. The nurse came at 9am and gave me the 2nd dose of my 4th cycle of IVIG. I had gone to bed at 2am the night before because I couldnt sleep, and then got up at 5:45am for the same reason. I dozed off and on during the 3.5 hours she was there. I was able to get my Flying Nun commission 1/2 done before the nurse arrived AND still had time for Cherrios! :) Mom took me to 2 art stores for paint in my new wheelchair. By the time we got home... I was completely wiped out. When we called the neurologist called last night, he said that IVIG messes up your electrolytes, and thats why people feel so bad during and after. Well, I dont need to join.... I'm a full-fledged member of that group already. ... And, on a much lighter note.... take a look at those beautiful standard poodles! I want 2 apricot standards, but these 2 dogs are just stunning!
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