Wednesday January 6

Woke up early and got myself ready for my appointment at the hospital.   I went to a different facility.  I had to be there at 7.  I was done getting the blood work and dressing change by 8 so I was home by 8:30.  It was an easy morning.

I got home and put on my fluids and antibiotics.  They were done around 11.  I ran to the store and grabbed a couple of things and returned the Redbox movies.  Then I went home and cleaned.  I did a full overhaul.  Laundry, scrubbed bathrooms, vacuumed, dusted etc.  it felt good to clean.  

After that I went to the dollar store.   There were a couple of little things we need that I knew I could get at dollar tree so I ran over there quick and picked up a couple things.  I went back home and started cooking.

I made something called crack chicken for dinner.  It was pulled chicken with cream cheese and ranch dressing that goes on a sandwich roll.  I made mac and cheese to go with it.   I also made chicken and dumplings from scratch for tomorrow for dinner.  I'm going to be at my therapy appointment at 6 so I wasn't going to be home to make something and wanted to make sure Colin had something for dinner.   I also made rice pudding.  I'm not sure how it's going to taste because I used the soy milk but it was worth trying.  Colin will have to let me know what he thinks.

I made a mess of the kitchen cooking so I cleaned it again....

Shawn called me around 5 and we talked for about an hour.   Then Chartwell came to deliver all of my tpn and my supplies.  I organized and put everything away.  It's about 6:30.  I'm finally sitting down.  I'm exhausted.  Hopefully I wore myself out enough that I can get some sleep tonight.  I am not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow.  I think it's going to be a little warmer tomorrow so maybe I'll go for a walk or something.   We will see.  I'm going to get my stuff together and get ready for bed.  I hope you have a good night.   Sweet dreams!

Tuesday January 5

Was up early this morning but didn't have my clinic appointment because of all of the insurance issues.  I wasn't feeling well anyway so I was kind of glad I didn't have to sit at the hospital for hours.  

I got up and dressed and put on my fluids and antibiotics.  Colin and I watched Love it or List it for a while.  They were having a marathon and we like to try and guess at the end what they are going to do.  

After my fluids were done I ran to Gabes to see if I could find any cheap tshirts.  I needed some longer ones I can put under my sweaters.  I was able to find a couple for 2.99 so I was pretty happy.  I stopped at the Redbox on the way home and grabbed some movies.  

I got home and was exhausted so I lounged on the couch until Colin got back.  He stopped and grabbed himself food on his way home because I didn't have the energy to make dinner.  

I got a call from Mary, my transplant coordinator giving me instruction on where to go tomorrow for my blood work and dressing change.  I am going to a different hospital that accepts my new insurance.  It's only a temporary thing and hopefully I can go back to my normal schedule next week.  It's a mess with all the insurance changes.  I really hope they get it resolved and it all works out.  It's extremely frustrating to be at the mercy of the insurance companies when this is a matter of life or death in the end.  

After I spoke to Mary, we put in a movie.  We watched A Walk In The Woods.  It was pretty good.  It had some funny parts and was a light movie.  Nothing intense.  Easy watching.  We also rented The Walk.  I was so exhausted that I started to fall asleep about an hour into it so I went to bed while Colin finished watching it.  I'll try to finish it tomorrow if I have time.  I'm not sure how long I'll be at the new hospital tomorrow.  

I called it an early night tonight.  I fell asleep around 9.  Woke back up at 11 and am now wide awake and it's midnight.  Hopefully I can fall asleep and get a couple of hours.  I'm exhausted.  I can't wait to be done with the antibiotics.  They are really messing with my energy, stomach and sleep.  Ugh!!!   Well...have a good night.  Sweet dreams!  Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Monday January 4

Woke up this morning to about an inch of snow on the ground.  It made me want to stay in my pjs cuddled on the couch all day in my heated blanket.  

Even though I wanted to be in my pjs I got dressed in my long underwear, jeans and sweater.  I bundled up so I was toasty warm.  I ran to the grocery store to grab a couple of things.  I got home and called the insurance company.  I was on the phone off and on for about two hours.  They took a bunch of information and said they would get back to me on a resolution.  The whole process has been so frustrating.

While I was dealing with the insurance I cleaned the kitchen, took down the last of the Christmas decorations and straightened up the house.  

Finally tonight around 6pm I received a phone call.  They approved my continuance of care!!!   That means that they are making an exception and will cover my care with UPMC and the transplant even though they don't accept the insurance.   It was such a relief and I'm excited to move forward.   They had to cancel my clinic appointment for tomorrow because the insurance wasn't worked out so I'm not sure when I'm going in to get my blood work and the dressing changed.   They are supposed to call me tomorrow and let me know.  

I made dinner for Colin.  It was a chili cheese hot dog casserole.  Different and easy.  Colin seemed to like it. After dinner we chilled out and watched tv.  I got ready for bed around 7:30.  I went in to bed around 8:30.  I am hopefully going to fall asleep soon.  Sweet dreams!!  I will post more tomorrow.  Good night!

Sunday January 3

I got up and put on my fluids and antibiotics since my tpn was going to be on for a while because I put it on so late.  I laid in bed and watched Lifetime movies while it was all running.  I'm still feeling really funny.  I'm in a daze, I'm nauseous and I just feel really run down.  I only have a couple days left of the antibiotics so hopefully when they are done I'll be feeling back to normal.

When my iv's were all done, Colin and I ran to Walmart for ice scrapers and salt.  We wanted to get them before the first snow when everyone runs out.  After Walmart we went to the Armory to the gun range for something to do.   There was a really long line so we left.  

We went back home and watched The Wire for a little bit.   Colin took a nap and I messed around on my iPad for a little bit.   It needed updated and I hadn't done anything with it in months so I went through all the apps and updated everything.   I was watching Alaska the Last Frontier.  Colin got up from his nap and went and grabbed himself Chinese food for dinner.  

While he was gone I got ready for bed.   We had a pretty low key night.   We watched more tv.  I think I took a little catnap around 7 and slept til about 7:30.  I got up, made my tea and put on my tpn.  I was tired so I went in to bed around 8 and was asleep by 9.  Today is cold and snowy here in Pittsburgh so I foresee a snow day in.  

Saturday January 2

I had a rough night.  I was up every two hours.  The antibiotics are really messing with my system.  I got up and ready for the day fairly early.  I put on a fluid first thing because I thought maybe it would help. 

While my fluid was running Colin and I watched Ricki and the Flash.  It was ok.  There were some really funny parts.  It was definitely a different movie.  After the movie we went to Lawrenceville so Colin could check out a barbershop.  He made an appointment and we walked around and checked out some of the stores. We found a really cool tea shop and they helped me pick out a tea to help me sleep.  I haven't tried it yet but I'm excited to see if it works.  We also found a beer shop where they sell all kinds of local beers by the bottles and you can mix and match six packs and cases.  It was a pretty cool store.  Next time Amber and Bobby come for a visit we have to check it out.  

We left there after a couple more stores and headed back to the apartment.  I put on another bag of fluids and did my antibiotics.  I fell asleep for about a half hour which is really unusual for me.  I have a really hard time napping but I was so exhausted.  

We got up and motivated around 5.  We were meeting Matt for drinks at Fat Heads.  We got there around 6.  There was an hour wait for a table so we hung out at the bar to wait.  A couple people got up and gave us their seats so we hung out at the bar for the evening.  When we were done we went back to Matt's apartment and dropped him off.  We hung out for a little bit and took the dog for a walk.  We left and got home around 10:30.  It was a late night but it felt good to get out.  

I'm going to be hooked up to my tpn until 11 today, but that's ok.  I hope you have a good day!!  

Friday January 1 Happy New Year

I was up early and got ready for the day.

I cleaned up the kitchen, put the pork and sauerkraut in the crock pot for dinner and started my crock pot mashed potatoes.

I've been feeling a little funny.  I think it's the antibiotics.  I'm in a fog again where I feel like I'm outside of my body.  It's not really the best feeling.  It makes it hard to get motivated and want to do anything.  

We had a pretty uneventful day.  I put on my fluids and antibiotics in the afternoon and caught up on trash tv.   I watched Vanderpump Rules and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

I rented a movie at the red box and ran over and grabbed it.  Then I went to The Burgatory and got a milkshake.  I was craving something sweet.

Colin and I got home and he ate dinner.   We watched Shark Tank for a little bit and then put in a movie.   We rented Heist.   It was ok.   It wasn't the best but it wasn't terrible.   It definitely had an unexpected ending.  

After the movie I got ready for bed.  Pretty uneventful New Year's Day but nice.  

I hope 2016 is a good year for me.  I pray the transplant goes smoothly and I have a speedy recovery.  I am anxious to have the surgery and move forward with my life.   

I wish you all health, happiness and love going into the new year!   Happy New Year!!

Thursday December 31, New Year's Eve!!

Happy New Year's Eve!!  My morning was pretty uneventful.  I went to the liquor store to grab a bottle of wine to take to Jimmy and Sarah's since we were going over for dinner.   I ran to Target and got a prescription filled.  After that I ran to the grocery store to get a pork roast and sauerkraut.   The grocery store was a madhouse!!!   It took over 30 minutes in the self checkout line.   They only had two registers open that had cashiers and the lines for them were all the way down the aisles.  They didn't think things through too well.

I got home from the store, unloaded the groceries and put on my fluids and iv antibiotics.   While they were running I did laundry.

I watched tv for a little bit and then around 6 started to get ready for dinner.   I got my tpn out and ready around 7 and hooked myself up.  We left to head over to Jimmy and Sarah's around 7:45.  

We had a nice relaxing evening.  The kids were playing games.  The adults hung out and talked.  They have the most adorable kids.   Violet is two.  She runs around and plays with the boys like she's six!   She talks a lot!!  She's a beautiful little girl.   Cole is all boy!  He likes to play his video games and he likes wrestling.  He had a friend over that was keeping him occupied.  

We stayed to watch the ball drop and then left around 1am to head home.  We got home and went to bed.  I hope everyone was safe last night!!  Have a good day today!!