Viva Las Vegas

So it looks like Mom and I will be going on a 4 night jaunt to Vegas. We're leaving the guys behind (but we'll miss them of course). I can't wait! We will be staying at the Bellagio with a fountain view room. We've stayed at the Paris before and could see the fountain show from across the street. It's fabulous. While we're there we're going to see The Lion King, Terry Fator, and Bette Midler. Should be a riot.

It's been a long time since we've been there. Mom and I both like to gamble a bit, but there is so much more to do. One day I want to go see the Liberace museum. And some sort of flight tour over Death Valley or the Hoover Dam too. Too many things to do in just 4 days.

I can't believe some of the possible flights that the tour company was suggesting. Ottawa to Vancouver (5 hour flight, 3 hour time change) and then Vancouver to Vegas (1.5 - 2 hour flight, 1 hour time change). Instead we'll be going through Montreal one way and then through Toronto on the way back. The nice thing is that our travel agent will book our show tickets too. It's nice not being an agent any more and letting someone else do all the nitty gritty annoying stuff.

Vet Bills

Well it's been an expensive week. Poor Wiska either has an ear infection, or problems with his neck. So he is on ear meds and pain meds right now. Sonny had a weird bump on his nose, so off he went to see Dr. Michelle as well. It's probably nothing, but if it doesn't go down I'll have them xray him when he goes for his annual cardiac ultrasound. And there's another bill. I'm happy to do it and I even get airmiles when I pay for it, so it's not a total loss. But somehow these silly mutts end up being a big drain on the pocketbook at certain times of year. This is one of those times. They're both happy though and running through the rain. They seem to love leaving little footsie prints in my kitchen.

I've started my Christmas shopping too. It's pretty fun this year. I missed last year so I have that to make up for. I'm kind of at a loss for what to get some people, but at least I'm starting early this year.

I dug out this photo and scanned it in. I'm pretty proud of it. It was a really lucky shot. It was on the safari ride at Disney's Animal Kingdom park. The male lion rarely makes an appearance any more. I think he got fed up with having his picture taken and tends to hide now. I'm amazed at how clear the pic is considering I was riding in a boucing truck zooming around the corner of the hill.

Leaves, hospital, and writing

My new best friend Carolyn arrived this morning.She and her son are doing the yard clean up and bush trimming for Mike and I. Thank goodness. The puppies were very happy to meet her and her son who is helping.

Mom stopped by this morning to drop off a bow for the present we are going to give Dad. Evil Mike and I (Evil Cora) are going to be taking Dad a roll of toilet paper to celebrate the removal of the colostomy bag. The poor guy is laugh until it hurts. And since he has a brand new incision, boy is it gonna hurt. But he'll appreciate the joke. We visited him yesterday. He has some more pain than the last surgery, but that is due to the fact that he had an epidural the last time and not this time. He was sleepy, but happy we came.

Just thought I'd add a picture of Sonny smiling. Mike took this a while ago. If you are afraid of big dogs, the teeth might not look so friendly, but trust me, this is a smile.

I'll (hopefully) be writing a bit this afternoon. I've got a short story in the works that I plan to send in to a contest. The deadline is the end of December. Knowing my propensity to procrastinate, I'm hoping I'll make the deadline. We'll see.

Flu shots went well

We had a bit of a wait at the clinic last night, but it wasn't as bad as other people have had. We had a time for 7 pm and got out of there at 9 pm. The folks there were friendly and very organized. So it wasn't a bad process.

Today will be busy too - errands and heading off to the dentist. I can't forget to pick up dog munch too. They're not getting my leftover pork chops if I forget the food. snicker. They're spoiled, but not that bad.

H1N1 day

So today was supposed to be the flu shot day. The roving clinic I was going to go to was just around the corner. Start time was to be 2:30 so I got there at noon. All the wristbands had been given out but I could have waited in the cold for an hour and a half because they were waiting for more wrist bands. The nice guy at the gate suggested I try Kanata - only 10 minutes away. I went there and got 2 wrist bands for myself and Mike with a return time of 7 pm tonight. It all went fairly smoothly with a minimum of fuss. I was pretty surprised actually. We'll see how it goes tonight.

Otherwise things are good here. I think we've found someone to do the fall yard clean up work. There is a great website called

http://www.helparoundthehouse.ca

I got a couple of connections for help and Dad is looking too. It's a great concept. There's a lot of young people who are looking for part time jobs as well as older folks looking to keep busy. They have categories ranging from house sitting to yard work. It's a good site.

Busy, busy, busy

Things are, as I said, pretty busy. I'm still going for weekly labs, so that always takes a part of my day at least once a week. I'll be waiting in line for my H1N1 shot tomorrow. I hope it won't be a busy location. I know that some of the roving clinics in other locations are not as busy as the main ones, so maybe I won't be forced to stand for 4 - 6 hours. I'm a little worried about the whole thing. Not the shot, but having to stand for that long. We'll see.

In addition to that I'll be finally going to see the dentist this week. I missed last year's appointment because I was in the hospital and I'm finally getting around to booking the appointment. My dentist is really good, so I'm not worried. I just hate having to take a boat-load full of antibiotics before I go. I end up a bit queasy in the afternoon when I have to do that.

Dad is going in for the reversal of his ileostomy on Friday. He's pretty nervous, but Mom and I know he's tough. He'll get through just fine. It's still going to be a pain for him diet-wise. But he's had to deal with no fresh veggies or fruit for quite a while now - a few more months won't hurt.

On top of all of that I have a tail light that is busted and a slow leak in one of my tires. Somehow I have to get around to getting the car in for regular maintenance and to get the stuff fixed. I keep promising myself to get to it and Mike keeps bugging me, but I seem to be suffering from a bit of inertia. Maybe I'll get to it next week.

Mike and I are teaching the dogs new words. Sonny seems to be twigging to what we mean by "hug". He's made the connection and when Mike asks him if he wants a hug, Sonny raises his eyebrows and then lets out a groan of happiness when Mike gives him  one. It's pretty cute.

Endoscopy Sucked!

I don't usually whine, but yesterday was the pits. I was a bit dehydrated going into the endoscopy. Because I had VRE and haven't had 3 tests in a row negative (3 tests, but not monthly, so it doesn't count) I am forced to have my scope and stretch at the end of the day. I drank until 11 am as I was allowed, but it didn't help enough. They made 6 attempts at an IV, and they all failed. I could have had the procedure anyway with a bit of Atavan, but decided to just write the whole thing off as a misadventure and I'll book again for next month once my veins have had a chance to heal. Bitch, whine, snivel, complain. There, it's out of my system.

We're gearing up for Dad's surgery next week. I think he'll be really relieved to have the ileostomy reversed. The surgery sounds more dangerous than the original cancer surgery, but it will be a relief to get rid of the bag. Poor guy still can't eat all the raw veggies that he likes though. He's always been a real veggie guy, and he will have to wait another 3 months after the surgery for everything to heal. I think for the anniversary I'll give him a ten pound bag of carrots. I also think that they'll be gone in no time flat. snicker.

Mom is doing well too. She has graduated to a cane and physio every other week. She is just motoring along and doing lots more stuff, although groceries still tires her out a bit. It's a bit more work when you have to juggle the cart and the cane and walk up and down the aisles.

Not much else on the calendar for the next little while other than meeting some friends for lunch. I've been really busy and am neglecting my online writing course. I think I may pack it in and just try to start it again in the new year. In the meantime, I am brainstorming story ideas, so I'm not totally out of it.

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Endoscopy tomorrow

Well, it's off to the gastroenterolotis tomorrow. I'm not even sure how many specialists I have these days. This guy is just one of many. He's great though. I think he's going to do something a bit different than last time. I can't quite remember what the new procedure is but since my stricture has gotten worse, I hope it helps more than the last stretching did. Oh well. The IV is more worrisome than the actual procedure. Versed is such an excellent drug!

Things are going well with the new anti rejection med. I go for labs tomorrow too. It will be a busy day.

The puppies are all fine. Wiska has a bit of an ear issue. Not an infection, but a bit of irritation. He had it cleaned out at his annual appointment on Saturday and we have to give him drops for the next week. Poor guy, he's such a wimp and doesn't deal with it well. Oh well. He'll be fine.
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A Chorus Line....

....was fabulous. As always. I know it was the first Broadway show I had ever seen. I think I was a teenager in high school the first time I saw it. It never gets old. I went with Michelle and Holly and they had a good time too.

I have to start wearing heels a bit more often. As I was walking with them to dinner, all dressed up in my favorite pin striped suit, with my favorite shoes on, I realized that I was walking very awkwardly. Talk about being out of practice. Still being stiff from having been in the hospital certainly didn't help. I felt a bit like I was walking like a duck. Oh well.

While we were there I ran into other friends too: Helene (former neighbor) and Marcia (our dog trainer). I hope they had a good time too. It's such a small world. They were at the table next to us at dinner.

On a more serious note, my new drug regime seems to be working out well. My creatinine went from 240 to 154 with only a 50% cut in the dose of prograf. Starting today I will be taking no prograf at all, so things should looking much better overall. The prograf makes my gastroparesis worse, makes it hard to sleep, and also makes my peripheral neuropathy worse too. To say nothing of the chronic shaking of my hands. All have been a bit better since the dose cut, so we'll see how things progress this week. Yahoo.
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Happy Thanksgiving

We won't be doing much this weekend other than going over to Mom and Dad's. Cooking a turkey will be tough on Mom, but she wants to make a nice meal, so we're having a roast on Sunday night. I was there today to help prepare a potato casserole (Romanoff potatoes with sour cream, cheese, & onion - yum) and got to see Kiki with her large scar (she had a large lump, probably benign, removed).

Hope everyone has a nice weekend.
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Happy to be home

Well I finally got home on Wednesday. It's been a long month. I spent 2 weeks with Mom looking out for her after her hip surgery, and then a full week in Minneapolis. I'm so happy to be back with Mike and the mutts (sounds like a rock group lol).

Things went well in Minnepolis. They have decided to change my prograf to rapamune. I'll be on the prograf until my rapa levels are up to where they want them, and then I'll be off entirely. I'm glad about this. It is a bit of a risk to the pancreas, but I have a tough time with prograf. My neuropathy in my feet and legs is worse when I'm on it and so is my gastroparesis. The last time they took me off it, I was able to get off all of my stomach meds.

Our renovations are nearly complete and as soon as our new box spring arrives we can finally move back into the bedroom (we're in the guest room right now). There's no room for the poochies beds in the bedroom now so they'll have to continue spending the night in their crates. They don't seem to mind though. I'll post some pics of the new bedroom set once it's all set up.

I'm not too busy the next few weeks except for a few doctor's appointments and support group starting back up after Thanksgiving. We're going to Mom's for a nice prime rib dinner (the turkey's didn't look that great at the grocery store). Yum.

My online writing class has started too and it looks like a great bunch that is taking it. I've started writing a bit again too, so the course is having it's intended effect. I'm looking forward to getting more writing done (I didn't get much done while I was away). I've also started reading some WEB Griffin books. I bought one before I left (both for myself and also because I knew Mike would like it) and I really enjoyed it. Mike has brought up some more from this author from the basement so I've found more books to distract myself. What else is new?
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUE

Well, today is Sue's birthday, and a special anniversary for me too. It was on this day in 2002 that she gave me a kidney. Talk about an extra special birthday gift for me. The kidney, while having had a rough ride over the last year, is still ticking along nicely.

Have a great day Suzie.
:-))

I now speak Starbucks

So in addition to the 3 languages I already speak I just discovered that I now speak "Starbucks". It's really embarrassing actually. There is a Starbucks here in the Radisson where I'm staying and I've developed a taste for their shaken iced teas. They look at you blankly if you say you want a "large". It has to be "Venti". Then their terminology dictates that you also be very grammatically specific vis a vis sweetener so I have to say "half sweet". I've been well trained so I can just roll it off my tongue now. "Venti sized half sweet Passion iced tea". I'm not sure if saying "sized" is correct but they don't seem to object. Boy do I miss Tim Horton's. I could order a coffee on occasion if it was a Timmies. I hate Starbucks coffee. Oh well. The iced tea is nice and helps to keep me hydrated.

Have a great day all.
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Biopsy results - that was fast

I was sitting in Applebees at the Radisson here in Minneapolis and I got a call from the doctor on call about my biopsy results. That was pretty fast! The good news is that I am not rejecting the kidney. The bad news is that there is some damage (again) from the prograf. I'm hoping that they will put me back on the rapamune. It agreed with me better. I'll be waiting for a call back once they've discussed what they thing should be done with my meds.

On a nicer note, I'll be meeting my friend Kate here in MSP. I met her online a number of years ago and now when I come to town we manage to get together. I'm not sure what's on tap today, but we always have a nice visit.

Dad was interviewed by A channel on Wed and it was a great interview. I'm really impressed by how passionate he was and he looked great.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncn6Die6oDs&feature=channel_page

;-)

Going to get some writing done

I'll be leaving for Minneapolis tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous, but I've travelled alone before and it's no big deal. I'll be seeing and/or talking to some people I know there, so that will be nice. I won't be alone.

My plan is to get some writing done while I am there. I've signed up for an online writing course and I will need some stuff to submit for critique, so hopefully I'll get that done while I'm away.

Sonny will be happy to go to the kennel I think. He's not that happy being home alone. Wiska may irritate him, but he's still company. The whole gang is there right now, so he will have plenty of company.
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Off for a biopsy

Well, things are a little worrisome right now. My creatinine has gone up. I'm pretty sure that it's due to the prograf (anti-rejection med) as this has happened before. I'm hoping that they will switch me back to Rapamune. I liked that drug a lot better. I slept better and didn't have as many problems with gastroparesis as I do now. The problem is that apparently there have been some studies that suggest a transplanted pancreas doesn't do as well with the rapa as with the prograf. The thing is - it would be easier to go back on an insulin pump than onto dialysis. So if it comes down to a choice between the pancreas and the kidney - it's a no brainer. the kidney wins. So I'm off on Tuesday and will come back in a week and a day. Poor Mike will be on his own again.

I'm finally back home now too. I spent two weeks almost at Mom's helping her get around and get things after her hip replacement. She is doing really well, just not moving as fast as she'd like. She's been a real trooper though.

Wiska has been in the kennel since I went to Mom's, but Sonny has been with me. He'll be joining the white wonder before I head off so Mike won't have to worry. They're all such good boys! Snicker.

Wedding was a blast

Mike and I had so much fun at the wedding. It was just great. Everything went off without a hitch and the feedback from our guests was great. Everyone had a lot of fun, and we pulled it off getting everyone to mingle.

I can't believe we've been married for a month now. I'm finally getting used to wearing the rings (I get a lot of compliments). We're gearing up for our renovations now too. We're doing 2 bathrooms, the bedroom, french doors to the formal living/dining room area and a bit of painting. It should be interesting what with the dogs being here too and Mark (one of our contractors) being afraid of them.

It will be nice in a way because we will miss some of the renovations. We're going to Disney at the end of August and staying at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Whooppeeee! It's one of my favorite Disney resorts.

Countdown to the wedding

So it's Monday and the wedding is going to be Saturday. I can't wait. There are a few last minute details still to be seen to, but basically we're all set. It's going to be the funnest party every.