Bell's Palsy

um....yeah

2006-05-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

So I haven't posted lately. I don't think I have much exciting news to share. I mean...how do you top all that?

Life seems mundane. I'll take mundane. Really. I like it.

I love my Pre-Paid legal. Much better than the Melaleuca. Don't get me wrong. Melaleuca is a wonderful company & I am still a firm believer in what they sell (still buying the stuff), however- their sales & marketing format isn't condusive to my schedule. Boohoo. PPL, however...is. AND the commission is flipping incredible.

Then I have the theifs helping me out. Absolute nitwits who take home SSN's & then get robbed. That so helps sell on the identity theft shield. I wish you wouldn't be so stupid, but then again, I shall take advantage of that opporunity, thank you.

What else can I tell you? Started my son potty training.... he's doing really well. I'm very proud of him. My daughter however has regressed & is now back to nighttime bed wetting. She's a piece of work, let me tell ya.

That's it for now. TTFN

My day is complete now...

2006-05-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

So, per Steph's website...

Tattoos are legal now in the last hold out state. Oklahoma. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060510/ap_on_re_us/oklahoma_tattoos

Now...

Normally I'd have a lot of sarcastic (read funny to me) comments on this one...however seeing as I have family in OK, (Grimmy et al) who by the way, happen to adore their tats...I shall refrain.

However dear readers, it's open field day for you. So- please share. lol

Melaleuca

2006-05-02T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of it? I'm gonna start it as a home business. Wanna work from home? Contact me. ...I'll hook you up.

Pre-paid Legal....thinking about starting that up too. I'm so gonna get out of Corp America....I gotta. I just gotta....

And the Dr said....

2006-05-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

Saw the Dr yesterday. May I just say "OH. MY. Gawd."

Dr- You are looking great!
Me- Thank you! I'm so happy to have my face back.
Dr- Yes, yours was pretty severe.
Me- Oh it was? You didn't mention that.
Dr- (laughs) What was I supposed to say? Yours was the worse case I've ever seen & I really didn't think you'd get 100% better?
Me- (mouth on floor)
Me- Really?? (yep, still recovering from the shock of that statement)
Dr- We've all (gestures to the front office) been amazed at how well you handled this.
Me- (Still in shock....lol)

Yeah so. Anyway. Apparently it was pretty bad. Maybe I was in denial. I didn't think it was that bad. I kept hearing of stories where peoples faces were drooping big time. Mine didn't droop that bad...(hush Smarta Marta!)

Man…paralysis is mind boggling. I mean, you hear about it, and can imagine it only to a point. When it happens….whoa!! In normal life, you don’t have to concentrate on your movements….and then, all of a sudden, you can’t move. So you sit there, like a nerd, and think if you think harder or something it may then work. What's that mind thing called when people try to bend spoons? Moving on- So your brain struggles trying to break down each component in an effort to isolate & move the muscles. But you really have no clue cause you’ve never had to do it before. And, you can’t feel anything, so you don’t even know if your effort is working or not.

2am, Closing Time (with Random Thoughts)

2006-05-01T08:45:00.000-07:00

So as tomorrow draws near, I keep thinking how when I get back to work, I'm going to have to repeat, again & again, how my accident occurred. How I was offically at fault....how I was imperfect. (Yes, I know nobody can be perfect....)

That sucks.

Even though, no matter how I replay it in my mind, there was no way to avoid it that I can come up with. I mean, really... how do you control adrenaline? Well, if you did, that would defeat it's whole purpose wouldn't it?

Then I get to thinking, how accidents are so random, that you just never know when one is gonna take you out. Like that poor man I hit. There was absolutey nothing he could do. This is especially scary to me because I live in the country. A good quarter of my drive is on 2 lane roads. Alls it takes is 1 person not paying attention & *bam* life ends as you know it.

Through all of this though have been incredible blessings. I'm in awe at the blessings that have occurred in my life. I mean jeez- for one, I walked away from an accident on the freeway where I hit 3 times, & my airbag didn't deploy (which I believe was yet another blessing, cause I probably woulda never got my face back had it deployed!). I got a nearly brandnew car in the same class as the one I had & have no payments. I had time off to be with my family during all the hosptial visits. I learned who my true friends are and how much they value our friendship....The list goes on.

Anyway, I've been thinking now that the Palsy is over & done with....and I'm going back to work...that I should bring this site to a close. Afterall, it was so that my friends could be kept in the loop with progress & all. Progess is done. Thing is...I like the background to this site much better than my normal one.

Bah.

Graduation Day

2006-04-28T20:49:00.000-07:00

That is what my Physical Therapist said as he walked in today. Looks like it's graduation day. Man, it felt just about as good too!! lol No my face isn't 100% back according to him. Even when I try to look, I can't see a difference myself. He says he does though. So I say it's like this: I had a V8 face right? Now it's a V6 face. The only time your gonna know the difference is when you tow. I ain't towing...so we're all good. Follow me?

Is it sad I just referenced car stuff? I'm a girl for Pete's sake.

Damn.

Ok, moving on.

So Wednesday I was in PT & realized (knock on wood) that it's been a solid week since I've had a family member in the hospital. Wow. A whole week in the last month & a half. Whew! Hold us back we are on a ROLL. (Sarcasm runs deep here if you don't know me...)

On a more serious note however, my FIL is not doing well. At all. Although he is out of the hosptial his health is poor. He has no strength to do much of anything. His pain is finally under control but with a ton of meds so he sleeps a lot of the time. I worry about my MIL because she refuses help from anyone. Especially emotionally. It's like she has to be like titanium or something & can't let anything dent her. I worry about my husband & whether or not I'll be able to comfort him when/if (but most likely when) that time comes. It's terrifying.

Ok. So Tuesday. I'm back at work. Goodbye clean house. I'll admit. I actually enjoyed being....well......being DOMESTIC. Ack!!!! I said it!!!! I actually said it.

I have decided I need to be a Stay At Home Wife.

Notice I didn't say Stay At Home Mom?? Yes, please note that. I love my children dearly. It's because of that love, that I know my limits. Being around them all day long sorely tests those limits. They have it good where they are right now. That's where they need to stay.

Hello Corporate America. I'm back. I will work my butt off more so than a lot of reps because that is my personality. I will get nothing more out of it. I will make the same as the slackers in the office (of course none of those people would be reading this blog...lol) I will have zero chance of moving anywhere cause that's already been determined. And I will always be on the threat of losing my job at a moments time due to those cut backs that the corporation deemed necessary.

Yay Corporate America.

I so need to be my own boss. That way, when I do bust my butt, it won't be for nothing. I'll quite literally reep what I sow. My efforts will pay my pay check. If I have family emergencies then I can take care of them & not worry about whether or not I"ll get fired for leaving.

I believe this is something I need to investigate.

Ok. I have lots more to share, but another night. I'm beat. I've been strong this last month & a half & maybe I'm finally cracking.... I don't think anyone would blame me. Would they?

2 more weeks

2006-04-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

Ok. So I'm not at work today. I go back May 2nd. Since the corner of my mouth didn't fire up until the very end, they'd rather be safe. I apprecaite that. Even though I can be totally happy with the progress made- I'd sure like to be 100% back to normal.

So there it is.

In other news my FIL is in the hospital. Has been since Thursday. His cancner has spread throughout his body & into his spine. They are doing a bone scan today to see exactly how bad it's in the bones. Easter was spent in the hosptial for him. My SIL had to work & my BIL opted out.

My family came over & we had a really nice Easter. We flew kites which was total entertainment in & of itself. Tip: Dollar store kites suck. hahahaha. The menfolk were brilliant in deciding the tails needed weight. Their solution? Attach a nail to the end of it. Right. So when it dive bombed we all had to make sure to know exactly where it was at all times! The struggle was on-going. The absolute best part was when my brother was putting forth a stellar effort on keeping the kite off the ground...it was a foot or so, but still going....Bubba decided it was his duty to 'catch' it. Haahahahaha....and he did! He was so proud of himself despite everyone yelling for him to not grab it. :0) Finally we busted out the good kites & were far more successful.

I'm a total dunce though. I did not buy one thing for anyone. Not anyone!! Nothing for my kids, my neices...what a schmoe am I?? (Feel free not to respond to that one, I'm already well aware thanks. Stick to the "Cat is special" as I walk down the rows when I return) My head has been in the clouds & I failed this task. Thankfully my family was more than generous to everyone.

I think that's about it. TTFN! (Ta Ta For Now)

Cat's Club...Meek Need Not Apply

2006-04-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Aaah yes. That last post sounded as though things were getting back to normal.

The fates mock me. Openly.

I have Acute Bronchitis now. The last time I had Bronchitis was a decade ago. Everyone...repeat after me "Cat. Is. Special." Yes I am. You have my permission to point at me & say that as I walk by. Cause I am scheduled to be back at work on Monday. Oh goody. Cough & all. Which kills me by the way. They'll put me out for half a face not working which effects nothing in my job performance, but Bronchitis, the constant lack of breath & coughing which totally effects what I do...nah....return to work, as scheduled.

Yeah. I see the logic there. ????

So. I decided to form a club. Cat's Club. The application will go something like this:

__ Has had 3 severish medical issues in a months time
(Such as paralysis, trauma to the neck & spine, & lungs not functioning properly
__ Has at least 6 medical appointments a week
__ Has had 3 family members take trips to the ER
__ Has had structural water damage in place of residence
__ Has had to endure the trauma of car salesmen (this one is the biggest one by far!)
__ Or anything along these lines you feel is relevant.

All applicants will be encouraged to seek mental help immediately! Again, only serious applicants need apply. Afterall, this club is for the "POSH" (that's a fancy word for fancy as my daughter likes to say)

Happy Easter everyone!! (No, that part was serious)

Shout Out

2006-04-06T07:07:00.000-07:00

Ok. I need to give a huge shout out to Sports Orthopedics & Rehab. The guys there are really really wonderful. If you ever need PT do what it takes to go there. Seriously.

So speaking of PT...I only have 2 more sessions. Seems hard to believe this has been going on a month. I'm mostly happy with the progress made. I've got the majority of my face back. Not 100% but only those looking for anything wrong can tell so that's good. It's only been in the last session or so that we've finally got the nerve that controls the corner of my mouth/lips to fire up. That was a bit concerning. I admit I'm a tiny bit scared that my face will never be back to normal...but no one would know but me I guess. Fact of the matter is, you live with it & move on. I'm thankful I've gotten back what movement I have.

My grandmother is not doing well. When she first got out of the hospital we thought she was better, but we are learning now that she is not. My grandmother is the type who just doesn't sleep but a few hours at night. Her Dr ordered her years ago to take a nap in the afternoon. She would lay down, but never sleep. Her mind keeps her up (I'm a chip off the ol' block there). Anyway... apparently in the last few days, she's been taking a 3 hour afternoon nap & then sleeping another 12-13 hours at night. I'm still in shock over that information. She's just plum tired out. I wish she lived closer so I could be with her more often.

Since the kids have been sick I've been holding them more which in turn has pushed my back a bit. My chiropractor says "Just say No". Right. I'm gonna tell my baby 2 year old mommy isn't gonna hold him when he feels miserable cause she might hurt her back. Well, ok, cause her back is killing her...but minor detail....The kids are getting better, who knows if the cat is. Love those carpet surprises....as long as it isn't my feet finding them first. lol

Long post ahead...grab some popcorn

2006-04-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

Ok, ok, my apologies. I've been crazy busy & haven't had the time or energy to post. Anyone out there thinking I've been spending a nice few weeks relaxing is sorely mistaken! Not to play to into the 'Woe is Me' card, but jeez, what I'd give for some relaxing time. If it's not appointments, it's on the phone with insurance or work or disability. It's never ending.

On with it you say. Ok, here we go:

Thursday night my grandmother was admitted into the hospital via ambulance. She said her heart didn't' feel right. Dr.s said at the time congestive heart failure.

Friday morning, mom goes into surgery. She did fantastic. (I'm a horrible daughter because I'm bitter that she had zero side effects from the anesthesia. Zero, zip, zilch, nada. My body about kills me coming off that stuff.)

My Friday did not go quite as planned. The plan was, I was to go to PT & then go pick up my new Sonata, '04 for $11,100. My husband wanted me to wait, I kept saying it was a stellar deal & we needed to act on it. Also, that was one less thing on my plate.

PT- good stuff. I am finally on the curve with my recovery. Yay.

Get out of PT, go to test drive the Sonata. Hadn't test driven it yet, but figured it'd be fine. I get there, & what do you know...it was sold. #*$^%*#!!!! Ok. Not so fantastic. My rental is up Monday. I need a car. So they also had a 2002 Camry which was really nice. Stick shift, bonus. (Yes, I like manual transmissions!) So I take it out for a test drive. Handles very nice. We bump #'s around they come down from 14k to 11,800. Still a bit higher than I'd like but a good car as far as I'm concerned.

I recalled that Lithia Ford also had a Sonata for sale so I figured I'd go check it out. Hey hey, it's an '05 & a stick too! Well what do you know... My time was pressed because I had a chiropractic apt to get too, but I was able to test drive it. I decided it seemed really small on the inside & I may not like them afterall. So as far as I was concerned the Toyota was it. Ron wants the Sonata.

Bored yet? Dear readers, you are only getting the mere surface of my lovely days.

Went to chiropractor, he still can't really do anything with my back at this point. They do the massage/laser thing pat me on my bottom & send me on my way. Except there was a lady there who happened to be the wife of a used car lot owner. So I go check out her lot, 2002 Toyota Camry, $16k. Ayup. I'm done. Just get that one at the other place I like & this is all over.

So I run a carfax report. The initial comeback was that this car was clean. You go into the detailed report & it says that it was involved in a minor accident. Doesn't say what that was. However, right after the accident, it went to an Auction to be sold. Big warning light. Why the auction? Why couldn't it be sold privately?

Fine. So now I'm on the phone with CHP trying to get the accident report. Of course you can't get through. By now I have a headache...everyone (mom, dad, husband) is telling me not to get the Camry. So I'm back to the drawing board yet again.

Husband gets off work, parents watch the kids, we hit some car lots. Gallant, Volvo possibilities. It's raining & my headache is still with me. We decide to grab a bite to eat at Tahoe Joes. First time we've been out to eat someplace nice in a while. I drop Ron off to get our name on the list & then go to park the car. Parking lot is fuller than full. So I'm going around back. Ahhh, a car is pulling out. I turn my handy little signal on & wait patiently. Meanwhile another car from the other direction sees her backing up. He hurries ahead, flips & U, & comes & steals my spot.

If I've ever had a very bad un-Christian 10 minutes, this ranks right up there. The good Lord was testing my character & I was failing miserably. Over a parking spot. Oy. It was a really good thing I didn't bump into him cause I was spoiling for a fight. I had many names I would have gladly called him. If we'd had our stem remover I would have flattened his tires.

Ok. Dinner is over we get the kids, get home & get them to bed. I went non-stop from 7am to 8pm Friday. Non-stop.

Friday night I went to bed at 9. Was up from 12-4am. My mind would. Not. Stop! Cars, disability, Insurance, Kids, finding another job...rest...

Saturday- 6am. Kids are up. Bless them (laced with sarcasm). So, so am I.

10am head out for the car lots. Camry is to go to a body shop & get examined. I still feel the Camry is the way to go as long as it checks out ok. Only 40k miles on it. Real good stuff. Body shop is closed on Saturday. Husband likes the Sonata.

(Throws up hands)

Hit the car lots. One after another after another. Dodge-Stratus possibility. Sonata, possibility. Sante Fe, possibility.

2pm. Take a break & regroup a bit. I decide I like the Santa Fe. So we go to test drive it. It's nice looking on the inside. Lots of room, decked out model. Miles are a bit high, but we'll see. Ron sits in the back seat. It sits straight up & down. That's not so good. Speakers are blown. Bah, those can be replaced. The 'V6', non-existent. We get on the on ramp to the freeway- I floor it. 3-5 seconds later...Ron say, go ahead & floor it. I'm like...it has been. For a while now. It was laughable. Needless to say it bombed out.

So I've gotten no where. Fine, I say. Let's go back to the Sonata I test drove & try it again. Yes, the one I felt claustrophobic in. I just want to be done with this mess. Ok, it's not that bad. In fact it seems plenty nice.

Fine I say. Let's get this. The original price $14995. We have $10,500 insurance money. I'm exhausted but happy I am finally getting this over & done with. Thus starteth 'The NEGOTIATIONS". Oh-my-fricken God. We say 10, they come back with whatever it is. Our guys manager comes in & out 3 times with counter offers. Then his manager comes in & out another 2 times. We are getting no where. They are down to 11 ,000. I'm thinking... Is my face still working, cause I swear I think its gonna start drooping again. $500 difference. If it had been me, we woulda been done & on our merry way with a new car. However, I put faith into my husband & just say forget it. Whatever. AT this point I just wanted it to end. Car or no car. We'd tackle it again in the morning.

They couldn't accommodate us. So we thank them for there time & start heading out. Of course as we are walking down the steps, we get the "Wait! Our GM just called us back & is willing to 'take a loss' on this one. Come back in..."

The total process took us 3 hours. However, I now have a 2005 Hyundai Sonata with no car payments. Yay!

Reasons for the Sonata.

His Hers
1. 2005 1. Safety
2. 10k miles 2. Reliability (exceptional Consumer Reports ratings)
3. paid for 3. it's done

And I have my stick again. Yay.

So. That, my friends is where I've been.

Yesterday my mom flew out to Tucson to be with my grandmother. Apparently there is more going on with her heart & they still have her in the hospital & are running tests.

Today, I had PT & Chiro. Good movement on all accounts.

Got my disability check, got word that the company has approved my disability. Excellent excellent excellent progress. Getting things off of my 'to do' list so that maybe before all of this is over I can get the rest I have been supposed to be getting.

Did you all nod-off?

Finally some progress

2006-03-29T11:51:00.000-08:00

I had PT yesterday afternoon & then again this morning. The last 2 times they haven't iced my face down first. I guess in the meeting of the minds they were trying to figure out why I wasn't making progress. They said that in a very small part of the population, icing has an adverse effect & can numb the nerves so that they don't get strong reactions.

In a small part of the population...
in a small part of the population..........hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahaha. Um. Yeah. (raises hand) That would be me. Bell's Palsy effects 20 out of every 100,000. I got it. Nuff said.

Anyway. We are getting better movement now. My facial muscles are outta practice now & I fatigue easy. I still have poor feeling in my lip area. I have only another 4 sessions left. I'm not sure if I should be worried or not. I guess my best bet is not to forecast, just live in the 'now'.

chiropractor appointments as well. I'm still sore along my spine & neck. Nothing I can't handle though.

I'll tell you what- the term 'rest' seems almost non-existent these days. I have apts left & right. When I don't have apts, I'm on the phone with insurance or doctors or disability people. I haven't even had time to get laundry done. How is that possible???

Tomorrow- no appointments in town thankfully. I'll probably be having fix it people coming out to take a look at the roof to see what's up with that.

Friday, more appointments & hopefully the purchase of car. The rental is up. Bah.

Did I also mention...

2006-03-28T08:04:00.000-08:00

My Father In Law's cancer is back. He was 'free' for all of about 2 months. He starts chemo again next week.

My mother has surgery on Friday. Not overly serious as long as we have no more trips to ER.

My roof is leaking.

Am I piling it on or are these items still pretty relevant? Cause you know sometimes you get in these patterns of only seeing negative things. Like snowballing. Maybe I'm snowballing right now?

Ok. Next post will be about my PT today. Hopefully good news. Think good thoughts.

Car shopping sucks

2006-03-27T21:34:00.000-08:00

Well let's see. My insurance gave me a couple thousand more than I even had hoped to get so that was really amazing. Even still I can't buy what I had. Pretty sad.

However, we looked on Saturday. Started off with a VW Jetta. Leather interior, stick shift, very cute!!! However, I need my creature comforts such as cruise control, auto lights & of course a CD player. Still, I could see me in one of those ...

Next was that droll boring ol Ford Taurus. Economical I suppose.

Then came the wonderful Mercedes ML320. 2001. Gorgeous!! Gorgeous, gorgeous. We would have to pay out of pocket a bit, but it was still totally doable. Ever practical though I had to check it out on consumer reports. Holy cow you couldn't get worse ratings. Everything was in the black (that's bad, that's really bad) except for 2 items. Yikes! Scratch that.

Then today I looked some more. 2002 Toyota Camery, stick shift. Love it! Not a V6 though. I've learned I rather like my get-up-&-go.

Volvo, Chyrsler 300, Audi, the list goes on.

But wait! Here's a 2004 Hyundai Sonata. V6. Niiiiice.....check it out on consumer reports, it scores quite well. I'm happy. I think I may have found me a new car. Will have to go back, test drive it & run the carfax thingy to ensure a clean title.

2006-03-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

I have the most beautiful wrinkle at the bridge of my nose...

That's right people. On the right side.
Wow.

Who would have ever thought I'd be so happy to see a wrinkle. Just a teeeeeny tiny one. But we have movement none the less. In fact I can even give you a slight grin on the right side as well. And my cheek moves.

Aaaahhh... I will never take my smile for granted again. I hope I get my full 'caffeinated' smile back. I want to be able to laugh with my whole face.

The feeling is still not there though & that is a bit concerning. However, I gotta tell you...I'd rather have movement than feeling. So, all in all I think we are back to making progress. No neurology appointment yet. Not sure what's up with that.