Reflections on Turning 54

So, yesterday was my birthday and I turned 54. Yesterday morning I did not really think this was noteworthy to post about. Those who I matter to sent me birthday greetings, etc. and to those I send my sincere thanks! But it turned out there was something that did make the day memorable for me after all and worthy of posting about!

I took the day off from work and was having a quiet but enjoyable day playing video games, watching TV, etc. I took a trip out to Costco with my oldest boy Chris who had lost his job, and I bought him a few weeks staple food to get him through the end of the month when his term is over and he comes home from college. I thought it ironic that I be buying for others on my birthday in fact! Chris came back to my house with me and played some video games and we were soon joined by Mike, a friend of the family.

We had plans to get out to dinner together that evening with my ex-wife, but all in all I figured it would be a quiet, uneventful birthday with nothing to distinguish it from any others I have had in the past. How wrong I was!

My 15 year old daughter Danielle came home from school around four in terrible shape! She had a fever of 103 degrees, a bad pain in her left side, and was throwing up, plus she was so upset that she felt she would be spoiling my birthday! She was in tears! It turns out she felt sick that morning and went off to school without waking me up or saying anything for the same reason! While a small part of me was annoyed that she did not say anything, and thus put herself through such an ordeal going to school, the rest of me was touched that she would do such a thing for me. Of course I would have preferred she stayed home from school yesterday so we could have gotten in touch with the doctor sooner and saved her such an ordeal, but this was certainly an expression of love for her father that made me feel very loved.

Another thing that impressed me was out of all three of my kids, she was the only one who gave me a card, and one she drew herself in fact while feeling so sick. I will treasure that card!

So, in more ways than one she really made this a birthday I will not soon forget! Hopefully she'll be fully recovered for her 16th birthday next week!

My ex also added to this day by running out and bringing in dinner for us all,, which I thought was very sweet of her though I felt bad that Danielle could not eat, as the doctor has her on fluids only until they determine what is causing her fever and pain. Plus, she had no desire for food the way she was feeling.

Back to Work

Well. several cans of Diet Coke with Bacon later I was well enough to come into work this morning. Though if Tails had not taken my RSA SecurID Token and dropped it down the furnace vent, I would have worked from home today. Over the weekend I had logged in, and then when I stood up I dropped the token. Tails, hearing it hit the floor came out of nowhere and started batting it around the wood floors. Thinking nothing of this I took my time closing in on her until it came to rest, tapped, between two slats of the vent leading down to the furnace!

Have you ever tried to race a cat! YOU WILL LOSE! She pounced at it and slammed it through. For a few seconds I head plunk plunk plunking noises as it fell, then a noise that sounded suspiciously like RSA SecurID Token meets spinning furnace blower blades!

Tails thinks this is a toy!

Thanks Tails! I hope to have a new token in a few days. I could have worked from home gtoday uilt free after the past two days intestinal woes I encountered. I was so sick yesterday, when the parts for my new computer arrived it was all I could do to put the box on the dining room table. There it sits, unopened, and I do not envision working on it this evening either!

Scott made my day Tuesday, he offered to come over and keep me company, but as I was spending way too much time in the bathroom, I declined, though I told him yesterday how much I appreciated it. Tails did keep me company though, napping on me most of the day as I tried to rest and recuperate. To her credit she did not take and drop my keys down the furnace vent!

Other than that Sunday two Sundays ago the weather has returned to cold and nasty. Some areas near hear are seeing much lake effect snow, but we are not, though it is barely 20 and it will be even colder tomorrow through the week end. next chance for temps above freezing is next week.

The perfect Cure for Stomach Ailments!

I inadvertently discovered the perfect Cure for Stomach Ailments! I have been sending away for a lot of free samples and this morning, in my second day of sickness I noticed a beverage sample that looks like it will help my stomach woes! A picture can be seen below. This will certainly make me right as rain in no time!

The only trouble is I don't know if it would be better served hot or cold................

Click the can for a tasty larger picture!

Chris is sick - day two

I conly worked hall a day yesterday, my stomach was a bit upset in the AM when I awoke, my 10AM it felt like I was being stabbed (or what I envision that would feel like!)

I came home, relaxed as much as I could, drank plenty of water, and 'communed' with porcelain many times over the course of the day into the evening. Tails of course kept me company sleeping on my chest as I got in some naps.

This morning I still feel pretty crappy but at least the pains have subsided and now I just have that general unwell feeling, headache, body ache, bit of a fever. I am also very, very, weak.

Normally on a day like this I would just work from home, but, over the weekend I dropped my security token which I need to login remotely with, and Tails thought it would be fun to bat it around and chase it.

Yea, it's always fun until your token falls down the vents leading to the furnace.......I should hopefully see a replacememnt later this week which would be good, so today I just took a sick day.

What a week!

Sorry for the lack of posts I have been feeling crappy all week. Today is the first day I have managed to ride the exercise bike since Sunday! I hope to catch up on posting later this weekend.

Not much to report on the work front, I met with my new boss during the week, he sounds like a good guy but I'm going to have to delay judgement on the new job until I actually spend some time doing it. This coming week will be the last week doing the old job.

It never fails

I thought I felt a bit weird this morning when I got up, after retuning in from snow blowing and grocery shopping my mild headache had blossomed into a real pounder and I have the feverish tired feeling.

Sigh! Were the kids not coming over this evening I would have retreated to my bed instead of shopping and clearing the snow, let's hope I feel better after some home made chicken soup and a nights sleep as it is back to work tomorrow.

Sick with Scott

Scott and I have been sick since last week. A bad case of fever, clogged head, congestion, scratchy throat, and noisy cough. With only a single wall between his room and mine sleep has not been easy, particularly with him coughing a lot more than me.

What makes it worse is that the kids were supposed to go home Friday evening for their week with their mom, but the job from hell she's been working in another part of the state went bad because of all the rain we've been having from hurricane Ike over the weekend, so, they will not be going back until this evening. 

It was a rough weekend all I wanted to do was.....nothing! As much as I love my kids I was looking forward to them heading to their Mom's so I could retreat to my bed and stay there.  Since I was having trouble breathing and needing to clear my throat I would stay up in the living room until Scott settled down (evidenced by the cessation of coughing from his room) and then I would head to bed so as not to disturb him.  The idea of making food or cleaning house was just too unreal to even think of!  I ended up ordering out food each night which I will regret when the credit card bill comes in.

Scott and I spent most of the weekend on the couch with him spending some time on the computer.

Today I am feeling somewhat better, past the worst of the symptoms but very weak. So weak in fact that Tails sense this before I left for work and pinned me to the ground until I promised her an extra serving of canned cat food!

Status Updates - Scott and I

I thought I would catch everyone up since I have not posted in almost a week. This is because.....

(Insert fade or ripple effect typical of bad 70's TV sitcoms indicating a flash back......)

I went to bed last Thursday evening feeling fine; I awoke at 4:30AM Friday morning feeling like I was choking on a pillow. My throat and sinuses were so sore and completely clogged, and I was running a fever.

I made it through the day and then spent the next four days feeling terrible which made taking care of the kids (Friday was the start of my week) a major chore. I ordered pizza and got Chinese take out, and Sunday, since it has been traditional and I know the kids really enjoy it, I did grill steaks for us though going to the store and making them was exhausting and felt like some major effort instead of the simple chore it normally is. Thanks to the X who came and brought corn on the cob and helped with the cleanup. The other four days nothing was cooked. I missed work Monday and Friday, though I did do some work from home I was too ill to do the whole days.

Today I feel pretty much recovered though my blood sugar is still north of 25 points higher than it should be; stress and illness really wreak havoc with your blood glucose levels when you are diabetic. For the first time in over a week, I was able to ride the exercise bike over my lunch break too.

Scott was feeling better with less dizziness Monday and, for the first time since May 2nd, made it through a whole day of school. Tuesday morning he woke up feeling more pain in his headache and more light-headed and weak. He only made half a day at school.

This morning he was so bad pain-wise, plus light headed and feeling very weak, he could barely rise so he did not make it into school. He has been struggling with trying to finish out his sophomore year of high school so he can go into the next grade come the fall. His mom has been busy working with the school to make arrangements for Scott having his tests staggered, and some of the work not done because of his absence dropped from the grading for his classes, so, [providing he gets some of the past work in and does OK on his finals he will pass, but, he will be going to school at least a week after it is over for everyone else since right now he's only going to do a test a day.

Scott is still going to the Chiropractor and we are anxiously awaiting word from the University of Michigan Medical Center as to when he will be going down there; I am just hoping it won't be next week when I must travel on business; the X is going to have her hands full enough (which I feel very bad about) having to deal with the kids herself.

Scott Update May 27th

Last week Scott had gone to School around 1PM on Thursday to attend a couple of classes and an after school club. He made it through OK but was very tired when I picked him up,

This weekend his headaches began getting worse, and now he has nausea as well. His Mom called the Doctor this morning to have them compile everything that he was tested for while he was in the hospital, and we will be asking them questions of specific conditions we have found via research or friends inputs that they did not test for.

In addition, we're talking about a second opinion through the other primary heath system here in Michigan (There are two primary health services here and my insurance is taken by both.)

Scott had wanted to go to school this morning but his mom reported he was in no shape to do so with the headache and nausea. It will be telling to see if he improves any after this afternoon's session at the Chiropractor.

I am consumed with worry and last night I barely slept at all. I am sure the X is beside herself as well.

Scott Comes Home

So, after four days in the hospital, Scott is released today feeling no better, and suffering from headaches on top of the dizziness for the past couple of days. Last night the headaches were so painful he was brought to tears from it.

Because the MRI showed nothing they are leaning back towards the physiological cause mindset even though the staff psychologist did not think these excessive symptoms were caused by stress. Now we have to take him to see a psychologist, and the earliest that will happen because of referrals and such is sometime next week. Because the hospital is recommending this we have to use their service, so, instead of being able to go to the medical professional building right across the street from my house we have to travel to/from the city for every appointment.

Meanwhile, Scott is very distressed about his dizziness and not being able to go to school and see his friends. We also have to make arrangements now for a home bound program from the school in an attempt to insure Scott passes 10th grade.

Scott says the only thing really bothering him a lot right now is the dizziness and the inability of the doctors to find anything wrong.

Debby (The X) and I are very concerned for our son and what the future holds. Please hold him in your thoughts and prayers going forward!

Scott is in the Hospital

Scott was sent to the hospital by his doctor today for some tests. He ended up being admitted several hours later. All we've determined at this point after numerous tests and examination by assorted different doctors and three nurses is that 16 year olds and their parents get easily agitated after watching the same physical examination performed and the same questions asked over and over.....don't these folks share their notes??

There was a minor abnormality on his cat scan but the consensus is this is not causing his issue.

Anyway, he has more tests and specialists and a neurologist seeing him tomorrow.

I am very distressed! The house is empty and lonely and I doubt sleep will come easy this morning.

Scott not doing any better

It's been a week now since Scott was first feeling dizzy and light headed. He was unable to go to school this morning and his mom took him back to the doctor this morning. The doctor sent them down to the hospital to see a specialist. They are concerned he may have an inflammation of the cerebellum or some other issues so an MRI, Cat Scan, and possibility a spinal tap will be done this afternoon.

Please keep Scott in your hopes and prayers! I am most concerned and distressed!

The week in Review

It has been a long week and it along with last weekend, is all kind of blurred together at this point, so here's a summary I've been keeping during the week. It's a long rambling summary with bold titles for each section.


A visit to Damnation County
Over the weekend, the most notable point was picking Scott up Saturday night from a friends house in what I now like to call damnation county.

He and a gal pal were dropped off at the movies and I told him to call me by 10PM if he was going to be later. He had alluded to the fact he would not need a ride home. So, around 10:45 when I noticed I had not heard from him I rang his cell. Yes, of course he needed a ride, could I come and get him, no he had no idea where he was. So, a friend read off the address which I did not recognize and then I asked for the zip. As soon as the last 3 digits were read off, which were different from mine, I knew he was nowhere close by. I mapped it, called him back mentioning i was not pleased by the fact that he was two counties away, and headed out.

Fortunately I had the presence of mind to take the GPS with me. As I got further from home and entered areas I ad never driven though the GPS saved me as the turnoffs I had to make from the main road were in totally dark areas with signs that would not have been readable without a quartz halogen lantern! Street lighting was non-existent here.

So, thanks to the GPS I found the large culdesac with about 8 houses, none of which you could read the street numbers on, and called his cell again.

"What house are you in?" I asked. "I dunno"was the laconic reply. Is it a big house, what color is it, was it close to the connecting street or near the end? "I dunno" again came the reply.

Meanwhile, one of the houses had illuminated and people were looking out and pointing at the car. I called Scott back and told him to hurry, and soon a bit down the street the massive garage door (by far the biggest one of all the house), on the furthest house in, with by far the longest driveway opened. I queried him as to how he could not have noticed any of those unique features compared to the other house?

Wait for it.......

"I dunno" was the reply followed by a request to take two of his other friends home with us.......after dropping them off I mentioned how this had best not happen again stressing he needs permission to lave the county we live in let alone be two county's away.

With the price of gas being what it is I used up a whole weeks worth in one trip. Oh, did I mention it was also raining? That added even more joy to it......anyway, it least I now what what lies down the road from the driver training school, I tell you what!

The only other thing that stands out about the weekend was the steak dinner Sunday. Forest Hills food had some excellent Delmonico steaks int he family value packs and the corn on the con, unlike the previous weeks pitiful offering of tiny ears with tiny kernels, were large and sweet. We had a most excellent meal indeed with the steaks seasons with pepper, dried onion, and garlic.

Don't Bug Me
A humorous note the X stopped by to watch Supernatural which I download off the Internet, she screeched at one point as a small black spider was spied on the couch by her. She is powerless where spiders are concerned; so I jumped up and crashed it in an empty bag from some low carb crisps. I teased her and said it's not that big and then pretended to reach in and toss the dead bug at her. She screamed at the top of her lungs startling Scott, and making Danielle, who was in her room doing homework, come running! Scott and I though that was hilarious. At this point I inverted the bag so the dead bug was trapped underneath and then, pretended to show her the bug by saying "Look! It was not that big anyway!" and opening the bag right by her face. She launched upwards and the kids and I had another laugh.......teasing the X about spiders is a long standing tradition that has lasted longer than our marriage did!


Sick kids through the week
Scott and Daniele were sick Monday, so I worked in the office until lunch time and then worked from home the rest of the day. I made a large batch of homemade chicken soup for an early dinner with lots of chicken in it, which the kids really enjoyed.

Danielle went back to school Tuesday but Scott, suffering from dizziness and vertigo stayed home again so I did the same thing at work.

Wednesday, I was feeling like crap, but I drove the kids to school because while Scott was feeling somewhat better I did not want him to have to ride the buss. I returned home and did half a days work and napped half the day.

I picked Scott up at school a bit after 5 (he had swing, did not dance but wanted to be with his friends) and we stopped on the way home to pickup Chinese food for him and Danielle while I went into Forest Hills Foods to get some items to make wraps for myself.

Thursday I took Scott to the Doctor's because he was worse and stayed home again and was very dizzy. They checked him for mono, strep, and some other items and concluded that it is most likely viral, though they warned to keep a close watch on his temperature because these symptoms could be indicative of meningitis. One humorous note when Scott was being examines as she went down the list of symptoms she was querying him for she was using the stereoscope to listen to his heart and lungs and she queried him: "Cough?" and Scott did his best to do so; the doctor and I both enjoyed a laugh at this.,

Thursday evening we watched the last episode of Scrubs....a show we all enjoy which NBC in their infinite wisdom has chosen to cancel.

Friday Scott stayed home again, I made arrangements to pickup his weeks homework after school today and came home half a day surprising him with some Burger King for lunch. He had his usual chicken tenders, fries, and a vanilla shake which of course he dipped his chicken and fries into.

True Lies

Danielle boldly and blatantly lied to me the other day after school. Even after giving her an out she did not back down, and while I will not go into details other than to say she lost her computer privileges for the entire afternoon and evening, it was most disturbing and depressing. We have always taught the kids to stand tall and tell the truth even if it means they might get into some trouble. I explained this again and mentioned how sad I was. I also told her since she could not be truthful for the right reasons that next time the punishment would be doubled! The sad thing was it was not really any big thing to be lying about!

Lunch on the Roof
Another notable tidbit this week was taking my lunch break yesterday on the roof of my house. I set my work IM away message to

"Taking lunch on the roof of my house - YOU figure it out"

and I got my ladder out of the garage. it's one of the four piece kind you can make into shapes, such as a U for example. I set it as a single straight ladder which barely reached tot he peak of the garage roof and I ascended to the top so I could remove the LMB from the Dish Network dish. Along with the receivers which I had boxed up for return you have to send the LMB. So, with instructions, pliers, and a screwdriver in hand up I went. Precariously perched I managed to dismantle the LMB assembly and disconnect all three cables to it.

I climbed down and packed up the LMB and also scored for my parts bin three coax cable extensions and three 6 foot coax cables. After work from home was over for the day I drove over to The UPS Store and sent the equipment on its way back to Dish Network.

In closing, that about covers it. I hope Scott feels better soon and this is not something more serious than a viral infection. he has already fallen down several times this week while trying to walk, it is most distressing. I will be heading off to school a little later to pickup his weeks assignments so he has something to occupy his weekend!

A Long week

It's been a very long week since my last writing here; as touched on in my last post the X is still sick, and on some days barely able to function; Sunday for example she had a blinding headache that really took a lot out of her! I worry about her because she pushes herself and suffers from what I call 'weight of the world on your shoulders syndrome'. She's been on at least two different antibiotics and assorted meds for the symptoms and as of this morning she is only marginally better. She needs to relax and smell the roses more.

I've done what I could, offering to run errands, watch the kids extra, and making her meals whenever I can.....I worry about her and hope she feels better soon.

Not much to tell other than that, though I may do a post or two about the new bargain prices camera, problems with my satellite service and tech support experience, and other issues. The kids enjoyed their week and two days off and are now back at school for the first day. I do not realize they had yesterday off too until my door burst open Sunday evening and Scott, surrounded by members of his entourage entered, Scott announcing that they were here to take the Rockband instruments over to a friends house where he was sleeping over.

The new Home Theater PC is 99% setup, and the old one is 88% ready to be sold, having been restore to factory defaults over the weekend and then having all the latest service packs and updates installed.

The weather is slowly moderating and doing the typical West Michigan thing; for example; it was below freezing overnight, 32 when I awoke and by mid-afternoon the temperature will have risen over 30 degrees to take us into the 60's!

I hereby proclaim that WINTER IN WEST MICHIGAN IS OVER and this weekend, with a Devil May Care attitude, I shall drain the snowblower of any remaining gas, and perhaps this very evening pour what's left of the gas can into the Mustang!

Anyway, for those that stop by on a regular basis, I just thought I'd take a brief lunchtime moment to post this.

Danielle and Strep and Tails and Foot

Yesterday Danielle came down with strep throat, a really nasty case. I worked from home and took her to the doctor and then went and got her meds. Today she is feeling a little better which is good, she was SO pathetic yesterday morning!

On a totally different note here's a picture of Tails enjoying her foot; I included this because Tails cheers Danielle up when she is not feeling well.

Click picture for a larger version

The week in review

This was the lovely morning that greeted me a week ago Saturday after additional snow the day before:

I was feeling a bit sick, had been the day before, but the day was gorgeous. As it got later I was feeling worse and worse. I called my dad to say hello and got some bad news; he had seen a second specialist who confirmed what his previous doctor had said his lungs were failing and there was nothing that could be done. I was stunned and spent the rest of the weekend in a fog, particularly after more bad news from some other family back east in the medical and other areas.

By Monday I was flu-like sick as I had all the symptoms except a fever. I was home sick Monday and Tuesday though I did work about half a day each from home just trying to keep up with all that is going on.

I felt bad in body and mind all week and work was very hectic on top of that. I was so ready for the weekend and Friday was the start of a week with the kids which always makes the weekend more enjoyable.

I don;t know what I did, but I managed to wrench my back badly that evening and by Saturday it was about the worst it has been in a couple of years. Of course Scott had plans that required various transportation plus because he had late-ending driver education which I had to drop him off early at (plus pick up one of his friends on the way) we also had to stop at the X's so they could get their stuff for the week at my house which we usually do after school on Friday.

Unknown to Scott and Danielle getting in and out of the low to the ground Mustang when my back is like this is very painful, all I wanted to do was take some presumption pain killers and lay flat on my back in between sets of my exercises. But because the last pickup I had to do of him and two friends was at midnight, I was unable to do that until 2AM this morning (1AM but daylight savings time you know) since all day I had to keep my head clear for driving. I could not deny him his fun, he's been through a lot too this week; he had a friend pass away at school. She fainted during practice for the talent show and was dead two hours later. For him this is the second friend who has died in a 6 month period. So, as Lucy had said in Charlie Brown, I just gritted my teeth, dealt with the pain all day, and got the job done.

Sunday morning after a fitful nights sleep my back does not seem to hurt any worse......though I fear it will be delivery food for the kids this day though when I go to pickup Scott from the friend's house he slept over last night I will drag him to Forest Hills Foods with me so he can do the bending and lifting of some groceries we must have.

So, that's been my week and why there have been no posts during that period. I hope everyone else has been doing OK.

The Great Melt of 2008

As predicted the temperature is in the low 40's today! The great melt of 2008 is underway! I've been working on drafts of posts all week, so, with this post note there are seven new posts added today containing 10 pictures that cover after Christmas through this weekend.

I have been feeling poorly the past few days, thought yesterday I might be coming down with the flu leaving work at lunch time because I felt so bad.

Thankfully today I feel somewhat better but am still feeling sick. It's rare times like this when I do not have the kids I am thankful they are not here; I'd be hard pressed to care for them and would have been reduced to ordering dinner last night and tonight. I have been surviving on instant Ramen noodle soup these past couple of days with a slice of Velveeta mixed in for a dash of protein. It really adds a nice flavor to the chicken variety!

So, today Tails and I have been taking it easy, watching TV, playing (she insists I play with her feeling sick or not!), napping, and for me working on e-mail and blog posts.

Tails and I enjoying a nap; as we were alone
today I must wonder who took the picture!

Quiet and Sad Weekend

A somewhat quiet weekend, marred by news of two health issues in the family, Sigh! After all he went through with the surgery for his back my Father's emphysema is getting worse and basically there is nothing that can be done. He will be seeing doctors and specialists starting this week for second opinions but the outlook is not good. I am, quite distressed by this and the other news I heard this weekend.

Bad News - My Dad

With every good thing seems to come something not so good. To make a long story short my Dad is not getting any younger (he is in his 80's) and his health has not been the best, particularly his bad back. For years they have wanted to do surgery, but the procedure was always very risky with no guarantee of success.

Now, the pain has gotten so bad, he basically told me that he's rather die than deal with the pain. There is a new surgical procedure that is much less radical, here, only a four inch incision is made, verse major cutting and such with the other operation.

The downside is that my Dad had had heart problems and he has emphysema and asthma. His doctors have said he can have the surgery, but, there is a chance he may not live through it. If he does, there is a very good chance his quality of life will be vastly improved, so, pray for or send good thoughts his way! He is scheduled for September 18th.

Good News - Scott

Before we left on vacation Scott started showing some slight improvement on his voice. By the time we returned he could talk almost normally! This past Monday they did another 'Nose TV' and sent a camera down his sinuses to look at his vocal chords. The paralyzed one were showing some movement!

The surgical procedure that was supposed to happen yesterday was cancelled, and we will see if Scott gets his full voice back over the next weeks before doing anything else.

Needless to say, all of us, particularly Scott, were very pleased!

I thank those who sent e-mail and well-wishes our way, and for those who prayed for Scott!