"...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