"...and would you have told us?"

I had to let two of my doctors know about a fall I took very late Sunday night/very early Monday morning (exactly 1 week after having my left shoulder cleaned/fixed up). Let me tell you, this wasn't some little trip & fall; oh no none of that cutesy stuff for me. I fell for no real reason, fell straight down on my left hand & knee & I fell hard.
I believe after lying there for nearly 15 minutes I am now able to state that yes if a tree falls in the forest it still makes a noise :-) 
I lay there feeling like the lady in those commercials "I've fallen & I can't get up!" nor could I reach my phone & at 1 in the morning you aren't exactly expecting company. It was with much relief I finally got myself up & collapsed onto the bed!
      Well I saw my surgeon a couple days later, he agreed the shoulder was quite tight & felt we needed to get going on Physical Therapy 3x a week for 4Wks. I am happy to report it is feeling less "jammed up" thanks to Kari's terrific work at  Tyler Avera Hospital's Physical Therapy Department.
     Next day I saw my cardiologist & found out I'm suppose to call in a.s.a.p. - anytime I fall without a cause & report. It's important they get any episodes charted. I didn't realize just how serious they would be about this because it was the first time I've gone down. I've gotten dizzy or a little light headed & had to put my hand out for a minute, take a few deep breaths-that type of thing. But until that night I'd never fallen & so far (11/20/12) I haven't blacked out as far as I know lol. Now I have to check back in with Dr Clark in January & we'll see how things are going then.
Until next time, Renae

Flu/Fibro

I feel horrible, like I'm getting the flu or my fibromyalgia is starting to really flare-up. It Feels as if I've been ran over by a steam roller {sPLAt}. I'm almost hoping for a quickie flu since I've had my flu shot so it won't (hopefully) be a long drawn out one. Sometimes fibro flare-ups seem to hang on & they leave your body feeling so wrung out & exhausted a bad one requires a period of recuperation.
I have to reschedule 2 Dr appts first thing in the morning as I don't have a way tomorrow or Tuesday (plus I'm already tired) & then order refills on abt dozen scripts in Marshall. I already called in refills on the couple in Pipestone (just have to pick them up).
Then figure out how to get some cat stuff (before Cali goes into major strike mode!), house supplies [hard to do dishes w/no soap; or take out trash w/out trashbags lol], quarters, laundry supplies & basic food - all while needing to force myself out of bed to accomplish any of it!!!
On bright side, since I must reschedule my morning appointment, I could go to the Library Book Club that is meeting at the Community Center to discuss 'The Great Gatsby' if I can catch a ride. Great Classic we switched over to. Started out as "Bridge of Sighs" by Russo it was lengthy & hard to get into but oh it was SO WORTH IT! I came to very deeply care about these people & their lives. I love a book like that. One that makes you want to know what happens with the people in the book & then when it fulfills that desire-ah so sweet!
Anyway I read two great books this month thanks to book club.
Until next time. Renae

Surgery Day

Kynee is off to school & I feel as if I'm dying of thirst! I know this is only in my head because I'm not allowed to have anything to eat or drink. Normally I would be sipping on a nice hot cup of coffee about now ;-)
I have a little over an hour before I need to get in the shower & get ready to head to Avera Hospital in Marshall MN where I'm having the surgery done.
I'm hoping we've got enough time to stop at Shopko because they called & my new eyeglasses have come in!!!
Already over half an hour late getting to the hospital to check in--nothing like adding to the stress just a little bit lol! So much for picking up my new eyeglasses eh?!
Tiara, Mykahl, Marisa & myself came in Risa's car. Jamie, Emily & my mom met us there.
Got this awesome lavender hospital gown on & my iv in. Ready to go!!!
I've met several of the anesthesia team and have decided to have the shoulder block & the general anesthesia. Here comes Amber with more of the 'happy juice' so the shoulder block shot part won't be so rough (ty Ty Ty-Amber!)
Oh my goodness, I came awake with panicked feeling sure I was having some kind of cardiac episode there was just so much pressure in my chest! I felt my eyes darting around the room & knew Marisa wasn't in the room. All I could think was I wasn't going to see her before I died. They were calling for an EKG & a draw for labs.
Then one of the anesthealogists from earlier was talking directly to me by my ear. She said she was sure the pressure I was feeling was just from the procedure to unfreeze the shoulder & the block they put in. They were doing the EKG & labs for safety since I have the BAV. Made me feel better & turned out she was right!  Jamie & Emily went to pick up my pain meds while I was in post op/recovery.
It's now 9:45pm. I just arrived home & changed into a nice really big button-up  "big shirt" since they recommend avoiding over the head types for the first few days.
Start working those pendulum arm swings-slow & easy tomorrow lol!!!
Thanks Avera Marshall Hospital you guys were great!

Out-Patient Surgery in the Morning

In a few hours I'll get up, shower & dress to go get my my shoulder fixed up by Dr Kemp at Avera Marshall Hospital in Marshall MN. It had to be postponed 2 Wks until I could get cardiac clearance from my cardiologist in Sioux Falls, Dr Clark at Sanford Cardiovascular Institute.
I am SO excited at the idea of being able to change the burnt out lightbulbs in my kitchen you just have no idea!!! It gets really crazy not being able to straighten your arm all the way. The things you learn how to do one armed...
But mostly I Will be happy to be rid of this pain that keeps me awake or stabs me for no reason at all.
Let me get back to strengthening & stretching all the other things I can't fix & must just "live with" due to blown discs, loss cartridge, arthritis, fibromyalgia, disc degenerative disease,... Hahahaha you get the picture
Have a great day & hopefully I'll see you after the surgery...Renae

Surgery Delays & Stressors

I was all set to have my shoulder fixed on Monday, October 15, when I received an unexpected call from the hospital saying we had to postpone. Apparently the anesthesialogist was not happy with my presurgery ekg. I've always had what they've called an "abnormally normal" ekg for me but this didn't match. He said I needed another stress test & an angiogram. Now I'm waiting to hear back from Tracy, Dr Clark's nurse. He's my cardiologist at Sanford Cardiovascular Institute in Sioux Falls SD. That is also where I just had the nuclear stress test last month (9/3/2012). I need to find out what he says I need to have "cardiac clearance". I have an appointment already scheduled to see him on Nov 5 but I'd like to get back on the surgery schedule before that.
Plus I'm hoping to get put under to have 15 teeth pulled at once but all of that is now in limbo.
I just found out last night that my grandpa Mapes had a major stroke a couple weeks ago just as my mom & my sister, Jamie were leaving on vacation to New York. I'm really glad they had a wonderful time because things have been rough for my mom since they've gotten back.
Rest time. Renae

Help Lizard Lick from TruTV get verified

Get @LizardLickTowin @AShirley4 @BobbyBrantley Verified: http://t.co/SeFHiG6Q This is a great actually REAL reality show! Help them out plz! -- RenaeScribnerWillis (@RenaeWillis)

Novel concept I realize in this age of "reality" shows everywhere but Lizard Lick is a real one with some honest to goodness down home folks. Ronnie, Amy & Bobby are just regular people trying to make a living & have a life. Ronnie even tweeted me back one time although I'm not sure my question made a whole lot of sense lol.
So lets just help them out by signing this petition so that Twitter Will verify their accounts for them.
Until next time, thanks Renae

Peanut Butter: Skippy vs Jif

As a little bitty thing I loved peanuts/nuts out of grandma's little dishes but along the way someone decided they were a terrible thing to let me snack on because I might choke. So I was repeatedly told the usual, "No. Don't. They're bad for you. They're going to hurt you."  The messages we give little 1-2yr olds when we are trying to protect them from something that might be harmful {or someone persuades us it might be harmful for our child}.
Somewhere along the the way my brain bought that message; like several other messages over the years. "Nuts are bad. Spit them out. They Will hurt you." Over the years despite trying various ideas I never even ate 1 pbj sandwich. I would literally vomit at the taste of nuts.
Then in 2003 I was preparing to have ru en y gastric bypass & one of the tips was eating pb after surgery because of the high protein. I was determined to do this surgery right so I started with Nutella & worked up from there until I actually could eat a Tbls of pb. Of course I then found out a Tbls of tuna did even better for you protein wise & was much healthier-go figure.
But nuts & I were on our way back to a healthier relationship.
Now almost 10 years later I am proud to say that I had a pbj sandwich for lunch just because I wanted to & it was delicious.
I have a favorite peanut butter--Skippy Honey Roasted-Yum! I have found though pb is one of those things on which I cannot save $ by buying generic/store brand.
When we found out about my BAV (Bicuspid Aortic Valve) & that it's genetic, Marisa started buying Skippy Natural Creamy. It's very yummy: 2T= 190cal(140Fat). Total Fat 16g (sat fat 3.5g/trans fat 0). Chol 0. Sodium 150mg. Total Carb  6g (fiber 2g/sugars3g). Proteins 7g. It has 4 ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, Sugar, Palm Oil, Salt.
Along with congenital heart defects, July also started Marisa down this couponing road to try & save some $ on all this healthy eats & to try some new things. Marisa had a coupon for a larger jar of Jif Natural Creamy on sale for less then the Skippy even before the coupon & thought "why not". As you'll see the ingredients are very similar; but there are some differences.
2T=190cal(130Fat). Total Fat 16g (sat fat 3g/Trans fat0). Chol 0. Sodium 80mg. Total Carb 8g (Fib 2g/Sugars3g). Proteins 7g. It has 5 ingredients: Peanuts, Sugar, Palm Oil, Salt, Molasses.
Neither Kynee nor I cared for the Jif Natural. I found it very dry, lacking in the fresh peanut taste of the Skippy brand. In all honesty it kept wanting to stick in my throat. I don't know if it's the addition of molasses or the lack of salt in the Jif; one lists peanuts & the other roasted peanuts... Kynee is glad to see Skippy back on the counter. :-)
I have found I don't mind the Jif on wheat Ritz w/some coffee in the evening so it won't go to waste.
Until next time, stay safe & love each other,  Renae

Busy Day

I saw my Orthopedic Surgeon, Dr Kemp today at Avera Marshall in Marshall MN. I Will be having my outpatient surgery on my left shoulder there on October 15th. He has the nicest nurse. Her name is Ethanie. Isn't that a cool name? I'd never come across it before. It takes about 4-6 total for the procedure [1hr prep/1 1/2hr surgery/1 1/2-3hrs recovery depending on how quickly you come around etc]. 7 yrs ago when I had my rt shoulder done it didn't take me very long to be up & about to go home. Also went by HyVee which is pitched as my "friendly, helpful neighborhood" store & they were most definitely not what I would consider neighborly or helpful. I received a $6.00 check from my Rx insurance because I had overpaid my copay to the pharmacy (which happens to be at HyVee) & I just wanted to cash it to pick up more scripts without driving 30 miles in the opposite direction from my house than Marshall to cash this ck. It was so frustrating! Fortunately I had enough change in my purse to pick up one I really needed. Seriously thinking about changing all my scripts to Coburns in Pipestone they're always nice & have been very helpful with last few questions we've had. Had the best eyeglasses technician at Shopko this afternoon who made picking out new eyeglasses entirely pain free! they Will be here in 7-10 days!!! My eyes are very excited ;-) I am exhausted & must crash-until next time, Renae

Schoola.com

RenaeScribnerWillis (@RenaeWillis) tweeted at 2:03 PM on Thu, Sep 27, 2012: @torianddean http://t.co/OSHnR1Fz is a great site! Thx for sharing it! I love ways to help Kynee's rural Lake Benton MN Elem School (56149)
I'm excited for next week to get here so I can go to Schoola.com basically double my $ and help Kynee's school out while I'm shopping! Does it get better than that?
I love deals anyway-really don't we all?!? When you don't get to drive anymore finding the best online deals becomes even more important. There are programs to register your credit cards with so you can earn different things based on your purchases. In todays economy every bit helps. One I have is FuelRewards from SHELL it helps you earn cents off per gallon. This comes in handy with high fuel prices & Marisa needing to run one or another of us to an appointment.
Save some money& have some fun doing it. Until next time, Renae

Crazy Hair Day

My granddaughter is off at preschool for the last day of school spirit week which she has adored. Being a preschooler she only goes 3 days a week but Monday was pajamas. She went all out-including using her fuzzy bathrobe for her coat in the morning along with her princess slippers! Tuesday was sports day which found her in a Philly's t-shirt, jeans & sneakers. Today, Thursday, is mismatch & crazy hair day. Kynee wore two different colored denims (plus her jeans had sparkles & her vest didn't--and trust me she informed me they were very mismatched! For a 4 yr old she worries about these things lol). She wore her green hair headband & her pink & blue hello kitty hair clips. She's just so cute :-) Watched both the premier of Survivor (is it just me or does the show seem to be getting wimpy ?) & the finale of Big Brother 14. No real surprises there. Pretty much knew if Ian made it to the end he would win the big money & oh look he did! I think it was Dr Will who predicted it way back. Just glad Danielle didn't because she did nothing to earn it. I'm also glad Frank won the $25,000 he seems like a nice guy. My sister even voted for him twice on her phone but then I told her she could vote for free online :-) free is always better! Time for a nap while little girl is still at school but those are just my thoughts and opinions until next time. Renae

BigBrother

I admit I'm a fan of Big Brother. Wednesday is the season finale (9/19/12). Dan, Ian & Danielle are the final three. In a complete cliche, Danielle is giving women a bad rap! She only has one shot left at redeeming herself & that depend on someone else. She's left her fate up to others because she chose to trust Dan yet AGAIN!
It would be so FUNny if Ian wins for #3 & takes Danielle instead of Dan NOW that would be a truly fitting end to a summer full of "expecting the unexpected"!
Survivor begins on Wednesday as Big Brother leaves us until next summer- waiting to see who we'll meet & what they'll get into.
At least that's how I see it. Until next time, Renae

Being a Grandma

Of the many hats I've worn thus far in my life, being a grandma is definitely one of my very favorites. It's like the best parts of parenting without all the stressors. When you're a new mom you worry about everything--what every cry means, what you're doing wrong, what your mom thinks about what you're doing. Everything seems like a big deal--there's so much puke, poop & fevers; never-mind when the tears, tantrums & fits start. You're dealing with whatever crap is in your own life & trying so hard to keep it away from these sweet innocent lives while helping them become good, decent human beings.

Then I was suddenly a single mom, with a 7 & 3 1/2 yo. I had a lot less crap but I was working full-time; the years just seemed to fly by. Now my grandbaby, Kynee, is already 4 1/2. It's been so strange how things haven't bothered me with her, no gagging with the vomit or runs--just clean it up & go--I mean what is that?

Marisa never did like to play Barbies; but Kynee loves to play dolls. We have lots of time to color & read books together and she has such an imagination! She makes up so many games! She is fun.

When I was a little girl, I was blessed to have 4 living grandmas & 2 living grandpas. I loved to go to my grandmas houses. 

o My Great-Grandma Hepner played cards with me, helped me get over my allergy to orange juice, always had speghettios, had blue hair and had her own wonderful "grandma smell".

My Great-Grandma/Grandpa Mapes had a box full of toys to play with, the biggest cookies (not in the mall-lol), and a "party-line" telephone my grandma liked to "listen" to.  :-)

My Grandma Mapes taught me to both crochet & knit. My Grandpa & Grandma Mapes are the only grandparents I still have living. They're both in their 80s and I haven't seen them in about 10 years. I still enjoy crocheting.

I'll save my Grandma Scribner for another time. She loved her family (10boys/2girls), cooking, garden, the color red, telling me stories, Jehovah God, and music. I loved her--I still do.

Till next time, Renae.

Another beautiful day...

Today was a gorgeous beautiful Sunday! I didn't get anything done this morning because little girl was not feeling well but this afternoon she was up at her moms & I was surprised at how much I got done. She started complaining she was feeling bad last evening but she does that sometimes when she gets tired. She said her tummy hurt but she didn't need to poop. Then her neck hurt and her throat hurt and it did seem like it might have been a little bit red but when I checked her temperature was normal. Then she wanted her back  scratched so she could fall asleep (finally!). 
She woke up this morning with a low fever, her throat was a little swollen & redder and she had a slight rash.  As the day afternoon heated up, we went outside & in the sunshine her rash quickly spread. It's just a fine red rash no pimples to it. Her throat now looks like it's strep so we're taking her into the doctor's in the morning to get her checked out. Always something-lol.  She had a bath & her mom did the calamine lotion & we gave her some Jr Motrin stuff for the fever & soreness. She sleeping good now & I'm ready to head that way too, till next time, Renae

Stand Up 2 Cancer!

Watched the special last night on the fight against cancer.  #SU2C  It was really awesome. Taylor Swift sang a song called Ronan. It's available for download on itunes. #istandupfor my sister Jamie who is a survivor of breast cancer. You can text  STAND  to 40202 to donate $10. Be sure to confirm with a Yes & help #SU2C!
Speaking of cancer, Apparently it wasn't the beginning of pneumonia the CAT-Scan w/contrast detected while I was in the hospital last weekend. It was some type of  enlarged lymphnomas so now I have to go see the Pulmonary Dr.  They said the good thing was if it is cancer we caught it at a very early stage.
It's always something, right?
I picked up my Life~Source Plus Blood Pressure Monitor yesterday. It's simple to use, easy to read, & it stores up to 90 readings in the memory. This is really going to help me see what my blood pressure is doing on a daily basis.
Time for a quick nap before we go outside to enjoy this 78° weather. Until later, Renae

Found one that works...

Good day...went to PT for my partially frozen shoulder brought home a "torture device" to work on a different section of it. I'm glad this really seems to be working; as I definitely didn't want surgery on it.
My heart meds also seem to be helping. My chest tightness is greatly improved & whatever was responsible for the neck pain-it is also mostly gone. My blood pressure was 96/62 p73. My HyVee pharmacy had a blood pressure machine that my insurance approved!!! This will make it much easier to keep an eye on the numbers to make sure the new meds don't bring it too low.
Then Sanford Hospital called to check on me; see how I was feeling, how my new meds seem to be working & what my bp ran today. It was a good follow up call not just a generic type one.
I watched part of Bill Clinton's speech last night at the Democratic Convention (thought he did terrific job!) anyway, I want a copy of Michelle Obama's dress except I would like it in purple please - thx!
That's just my view on things. Until next time, Renae

A Reprieve

I got a phone call this morning saying that I could come in today & meet Dr Clark the Cardiologist I was suppose to see tomorrow at Sanford Cardiovascular Institute at noon or I'd have to wait until the 19th...
Thanks to my mom & Marisa we managed to pull it off and he was everything we were hoping for in a doctor! He answered all of our questions & explained everything.
I go back to see him the beginning of November unless there is a problem sooner.
we have to keep an eye on my blood pressure to make sure the new meds don't make it go to low. My valve is functioning well now & we'll do another echo in a year to see where it is at then.
My other numbers are all looking pretty amazing for how awful I feel. My AC1 was 5.8. He had been saying we would work on getting my bad cholesterol below 70 as a goal but then he looked & mine is 33 -- go me!
Honestly at 179.8 I am the healthiest I have been in probably my entire life -- except for this BAV; working on this left partially frozen shoulder; & my other various 46 yr old stuff I haven't filled you in on yet.
At least that's how it seems tonight - til next time, Renae

Unexpected Trip

Last thing I planned to do when I woke up this morning was take a trip to Sioux Falls. But...here I am laying in this lovely room with all kinds of wires & needles hooked up to me. Sanford Hospital has a lovely ER with this cool "Bubble Room" people can wait in. It took a while to see a doctor & get tests ordered but in their defense they had several traumas come in. Holiday weekends are not the best time to visit an ER.
So far they've found the start of pneumonia on the left side; we know from the TEE that my bicuspid valve is working at 55/60% capacity which isn't bad considering it's only 2/3 of the valve to start with.
Now I'm settled in my quite comfy room waiting to see what tomorrow holds.
That's my take on today. Til next time, Renae

The beginning of change...

I had no idea such a simple question was going to bring about so many changes. Before that day in July, the answer had always been "no" but now apparently this was no longer the case. I had gone in because pain in my shoulder was getting worse seemingly making my neck tighten up. But with all the ads on tv about how different heart attacks are for women, it was making me nervous and now here was a doctor saying I definitely had a heart murmur after 46 years without one. They scheduled me to come in the next week for an echocardiogram.
The awful thing about medical stuff is all the waiting. You wait for the tests. You wait for the results to come in. You wait to meet with the doctors to get the results. Then you wait to have the next tests that the previous tests indicate you need done -- it's a vicious cycle. The echo came back that I have a Congenital Birth Defect called BAVD for short or Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease. We haven't figured out yet if it comes from my mom or my dad's side of the family which is important because cousins etc need to get screened & know what to look out for.
Because I have a Bicuspid Valve my kids each have a 50% chance of having it in some form (aren't they fortunate haha). Marisa was born with a murmur but was always told it was innocent but she should take antibiotics before any dental work. She started some preliminary testing this week. I'm doing a lot of praying for her. Christopher on the other hand, does not want to know. He doesn't plan to quit smoking at this point in his life (he's 25 & single), nor does he want to change his lifestyle/eating habits-so he doesn't see any point in going through any tests right now.
I have now had a TEE (Transesophageal Echocardiogram) where they put the scope down your throat to get an unobstructed view of the aorta. It sounds much worse than it is. It went very smoothly. The first cardiologist is suppose to call me with an appointment but I have one scheduled next week with a different Cardiologist who works at the same center as the surgeon I want when I get to that stage.
Meantime, Marisa has become our healthy cook. She makes us fruit/vegetable shakes everyday (neither of us owns a juicer but she has this blender thing down). She is becoming quite the coupon-er to so she can save money on all these health foods and organic products. She has been reading everything she can get her hands on to learn about this disease and all the forms it can take.
Two sites I really like are www.bicuspidfoundation.com & www.bicuspidaorticvalve.org I believe information is power especially when it comes to your health. This is also why I'm 'shopping' cardiologist. We did not feel like the first doctor we saw 'appreciated' our questions. I had Marisa with me and my sister, Jamie. We went prepared with questions written down, etc. He really seemed bored with us & very short until finally Marisa asked him, "So, you're saying we don't have to worry about this?" He stopped, looked at us and said, "No, she could drop dead at any minute." I cannot say he exactly inspired confidence in any of us. I'm hoping we get a better click with this next doctor since the cardiologist organizes all the care related to the BAVD which can range from heart valves, dissections, connective tissue diseases, neck issues, & brain aneurysms among others.
I'm tired out for now & of course this is all only my perspective on things.
Renae