Stone(s), Part II

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. We'll see how many I can get into this post.

The above picture you see if Julie's Gallbladder...and the lone stone that was inside.

The surgery went well. She was in the OR Monday for about a half hour, in recovery for another 45 minutes before she was wheeled back to the room where Jess, Curtis and I were waiting. Jess had to leave after a few minutes, leaving me with Julie...who was in a lot of pain. They tried to give her morphine into the IV drip, but it was to no avail. Only after consulting with the anesthesiologist and giving her dopamine was she able to sleep. She slept for about 3 hours before they let her go home.

Yep. Laparoscopic Cholecystemectomy is considered outpatient surgery, kids.

The first couple days have been hard for her. I sincerely doubt she expected the level of pain this would cause, but then, having part of your insides removed will have that effect. Still, as her brother put it, she did lose weight.

Every day she's a little better. She's still having trouble bending and standing for extended periods. She's off work for the week: Originally, she was supposed to go back this (Friday) afternoon, but given her level of pain, she called work and they agreed she should take the weekend.

I'm thankful my boss was understanding enough to let me take the week off, and another tech was able to take my installs in San Antonio. Yeah, it would've been cool to see the city (never been there), but maybe some day.

Julie and I thank everyone for the kind words, prayers and well-wishes. They've meant a lot. The hardest part for her, now, is the diet change. Without the gallbladder containing the bile, everything flows straight into the liver and that means she'll have to watch what she eats. Try to maintain a low-fat diet. Nothing to greasy or spicy lest she have to run to the bathroom.

Everything will be fine, though. My love is a strong woman. I'm just glad I've been here to help her. She is my heart, my angel. There's nowhere else I'd rather be but by her side.

For the record, this post contains 394 words. Okay, so it's not a thousand. I'll try harder in the future.

My first strike

One thing I've wanted to do for some time is get a picture of lightning.
Until now, it's been as elusive as...well...lightning itself.

Tonight, there was a storm north of DeKalb. I thought I'd get the camera and tripod out and try (again).

Most of the pictures were, eh. This one, however...this was the winner.

It's a little bright (I was playing with the settings), but it came out, and that's all that matters. It made me happy, and I wanted to share it with you.

Stones

This post does not contain any Neil Diamond lyrics.

The extended weekend in Pittsburgh was great. We all had a good time (as evident by the video in my last post). We got back home late Sunday night, and it wasn't long before Julie and I went to bed.

Sometime around 2 in the morning, I noticed Julie wasn't in bed. I saw a light upstairs, and figured she had trouble sleeping. I didn't want to disturb her: I know when she's not feeling good to let her have some time to herself, although I'd rather be sitting with her if only to be supportive.

She came back to bed later and apologized for waking me up. I asked what was wrong, and she told me she had a bad stomachache, one that kept her up all night. She hadn't slept.

The pain was about an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10. Nothing helped, not even the Pepto, which she didn't like because of the cherry flavor. She prefers the traditional minty, chalky taste.

I stayed up with her, trying to comfort her (even though she didn't want me to touch her most of the time). I kept asking her if she wanted to go to the hospital (which she loathes), and she kept telling me no.

Finally, around 5, with neither of us getting any sleep and the pain not getting any better, I told her to get dressed. We're going to the emergency room. I knew it was bad because she finally agreed with me.

We got there and found out (after not too long a wait) the problem: Gall stones.

Seems she has a 1.7cm (that's BIG) stone near the neck of the gall bladder. It wasn't blocking the opening, nor had it caused an infection, but it was still bad. They gave her some medication to make the pain go away, two more days off of work (doctor's orders), a couple prescriptions and instructions to call a surgeon to see how to proceed.

I had to get back on the road, back to work, later that morning, so I did the necessary running around while Julie stayed home to rest (although that was limited: She and Hailey were watching the Bub). I got everything done that needed to be done (mostly) and got back to work.

This week, I'm close to Chicago and right near the Illinois/Wisconsin border. Close enough to home that I can make it there if needed, thankfully, but next week, I'm supposed to be in San Antonio.

Well, the San Antonio plan has been canceled, or at least, given to another technician. Julie and Jess went to the surgeon earlier today, and she was told she needed surgery. Next Monday, they're removing her gall bladder.

I told Julie I was going to be there, and she told me I didn't have to. Foolish woman. Like any job would keep me from being there when she needs me. Yeah, it'll mean I'm not gonna make any money next week, but I don't care. Being there for the woman I love is the most important thing to me.

Like I could be that far away from her when she needs me the most. Sorry, Charlie. Ain't gonna happen.

There's a story behind this little piece of insanity...



While Julie, Hailey and I were in Pittsburgh, Jessica texted us that we had a game weekend...a scavenger hunt!

We had to go around and find things (get a bottle of water from the river, a stranger's autograph, a photo with a stranger, etc.). One of the things was to order a pizza with a smiley face on it.

Now, my buddy Tim makes the most amazing pizzas. Seriously. They're completely from scratch and they are better than most pizza joints.

So we ordered a pizza from him. Jess didn't specify where we had to order it from.

We sent her a picture of the pizza, but for the fun of it, we also shot a video...

Surprises abound

By the time you're reading this, Julie, Hailey and I will be in Pittsburgh.

We were supposed to go to the race this year, but we couldn't afford the tickets. I realize it's gonna be a small consolation, but I surprised her Wednesday afternoon with packed bags (with Hailey's help) and a loaded car to make the eight-and-a-half hour drive.

Also, I didn't tell my buddy Tim that we were coming either. His lovely wife, Connie was my accomplice in this.

We'll be back in a few days. For now, it's sammiches, Vinnie Pie, the best wings ever and dessert...oh, and maybe a little fun too!

Late night thoughts from Quincy, IL.

It's about 20 to 11 as I start to type this. I'm tired yet not ready to fall asleep tired yet, so I figured it's the perfect time to blog.

Random thoughts from a non-linear mind.

* The bridesmaid dresses are picked out. Julie and the girls went down this week and got 'em. They're Victorian Lilac in color, which will look lovely. This Monday, Jess, the boys and I are going to Men's Warehouse to talk tuxedos. We're thinking having the men wear a shade darker, bit more purple than the girls. It'll make a nice contrast. Julie is worried that I'll pick something ugly/geeky/tacky to wear. She needn't worry. I know what I want, and the tails will be quite fetching. ;)

* While I've been away this week, Julie's been trying to get parts of the house in some semblance of order. It's been...daunting...to say the least, but she's done a pretty good job. My old place is about 98% cleaned out, with just a few things left. I'll help get the stuff out tomorrow, have a walk through with my landlord and take it from there.

I must admit, I'm a bit nervous about the walkthrough. Maybe that's why I've had some trouble sleeping this past week. I've never done this before, and I have no idea what to expect. What does it entail? If there's a problem, what happens? It's not like I've been there much for the past six months, but it's got me a little...nervous. Before you go and leave a comment to tell me what to expect, I'll just say "thanks but no worries". Odds are, I won't see the comments until after the walkthrough's done. I've gotta get up early tomorrow and drive for over 4 hours to get home...

* This past weekend, Julie (I love her so damn much) took care of something for me that's been long overdue. She burned up some of Mum's old papers.

We went through her collection of old bills (some of them dating back to 1960). Partially, it was a trip through time. Partially, we were looking to see if there was anything hidden in the papers (there wasn't). After we checked everything, she put them in the grill late Sunday night and lit the fire.

It was fascinating to watch. I grabbed my camera (geek) and took some pics, which I still haven't checked out yet. There were so many bills that she didn't get to finish, and the fire was still burning when we covered the grill and called it a night.

The other day while we were talking (when you're so far away from the one you love, what else can you do?), she told me she cleaned out the grill, to get ready for the next batch. All the papers were burnt...except for one. There was a heart-shaped stamp on it, and it said "love".

Guess The Kid had to tell me one last time she loved me. Thanks, Mama.

* I've gotta stop at Wally World when I get home. Need a few things, like plumber's tape. I took down the shower massage head from my old place and have to put it up in our bathroom. Julie will, no doubt, go "whatever", but Hailey seemed to like it. Lemme tell ya: There's nothing better on aching muscles in the shower than a nice pulsating massage.

* I bought a handheld video camera earlier this week off of Woot. It's a refurbished model that I didn't pay a lot of money for, thinking we could get someone to shoot the video of the wedding. It came today, and Julie and Cory were playing with it. They said it looked great on the little screen, but was a little choppy on her laptop. Could be one of a number of problems: Her laptop needs a little TLC, if I can ever find the time to work on it. I'll see what it looks like this weekend, and how it looks on a real operating system (Ubuntu).

* No work next week. Whenever there's a holiday, there's no installs scheduled for that week. Yeah, it's a week off, but no work = no pay. It should be okay, however. We've got plenty of things to do to, and a surprise or two planned...

Okay, it's a couple minutes to 11. I have to try and get some sleep. Gotta get up early. Got a long drive ahead of me, and loving arms I can't wait to hold me tomorrow.

G'nite, kids. Just remember...if someone loves you, they'll let you know they love you. No matter what.