An ER Story

Alli had her first head trauma Thursday night.

Apparently she had an accident at school and slammed her forehead into a metal bar (I still don't understand how this happened!) and scratched her nose and chin up.

I had a 5:40 doc appt to check my INR and Protime, so I picked up the family to come with so we could head out to dinner afterwards.

Appt went well, so we headed to Boston Market for dinner and I noticed how lethargic she seemed and the size of her HUGE bump on her forehead. She was also complaining about her head hurting, that she had a 'headack' and that she was dizzy. We decided to rather be safe than sorry.

We went to Urgent Care first. They referred us to the hospital.

And so... we went back to Fairview Southdale ER. I'm starting to think of it as home after all the visits these last few weeks. I saw at least 3 nurses last night that I had had when I had been there previously. Even John, the nurse who had to stab me 4 times to get my IV in last Friday was there. I felt like we were family reuniting. *L*

We waited about an hour and a half before they called Alli to go back for a CT scan to make sure there was no bleeding in the brain because the size of the goose egg on her forehead that was frightening.

She loved the cute and fuzzy blue gown we changed her into, and received stickers from a couple nurses, a bendy doll that was a ballerina, and a necklace of metallic green Mardi Gras beads in the shapes of dice. Yes, she was a spoiled - and brave - little girl.

The ER doc confirmed she has a mild concussion and should be watched - if fever, vomiting, or unusual behavior, then take her back into the ER for additional testing.

But yes... she is okay. :) Her first head trauma. What a milestone. *L*

"And sometimes.... you touch..."

Now, I am typing up this posting before the next simply because I just watched Grey's Anatomy from Thursday night. (Remember, long live the DVR!)

First off: OHMYGOD. Meredith's mom died. You knew of course Meredith was going to make it, right? I did. I was more interested in what happened in her afterlife as I had seen the actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Denny) at the end of the last episode and was just like "WFT?!"

Okay so...the entire episode, you know they are trying to draw it out as long as they can for Meredith to be out without brain damage. I had to laugh at the way Christina handled it though - as far as going to the $1 store and buying a whole bunch of crap for 99 cents each. It had me chuckling... and then I realized how messed up her character is. I suppose watching your father bleed out during a car accident might do that to you.

And then there was the mysterious pregnant patient who was crushed by the pylon. Who is this person? Is this going to be like Izzy's Denny love of her life situation? Hrm...ring line but no ring? Questions, questions.

The thing that kinda pisses me off is Izzy's constant badgering of Callie and George's marriage. I get how Callie ticked off Izzy by acting like she knew Meredith, but I think Callie was more interested in convincing herself and others that Meredith *would* get through this without an issue.

However, Callie PISSED me off when she basically told Izzy to back off and something along the lines of how people around Izzy were dropping like flies. How heart-breaking! :(

The most poignant moments were:
*When Derek ly down with Meredith at the end and he held her.
You see Addison and Mark ("McSteamy")watching them and she states that Derek and she never had "that"...their conversation turns into a challenge for each other to go through 60 days of celibacy... which isn't so poignant.

*You hear Meredith narrating at the end about "And sometimes.... you touch..."
And you see Izzy walking out the hospital; she stops and smiles and gets this look on her face. The camera swivels to show Denny's ghostly form, unseen to Izzy, who whispers her name and smiles longingly at her as she's paused in the middle of the hallway. The camera makes the full swivel to her right and she appears to shake it off and continues walking. You see Denny stop a moment more and put his head down...and he walks on, in his afterlife.

*sigh* Now *that* ladies and gentlemen... is true love right there and it SUCKS that the writers are basically being mean and teasing me. Yeah, I know they're out to get me - I've been a staunch Izzy & Denny supporter and went through a Grey's depression when he was killed off. BOO! HISS! But hey, at least they brought him back for a bit. :)

Next week is a re-run. To keep up to date with episodes you may have missed dear reader, this website link will give you the summaries for each episode so far.

Out

The good: I was released from the hospital last night around 6:30pm after demonstrating I am not an idiot and know how to administer my Lovenox shots. Well duh. I've been taking them faithfully for the last 3 months.

Dr. Bitch as I'll call her, was my attending physician Tuesday; she treated me like I was stupid in general; the discharge directions included when to take Coumadin (daily for the next 6 months) 10mg, and NO GETTING PREGNANT DURING THAT TIME. I am on Lovenox only for the next two days, and then just straight Coumadin with bi-weekly blood tests.

Okay - the WHOLE reason I ended up in the hospital is because I was not put on the right dosage of Lovenox after the DnC back in November. I should NOT be the one who is punished. I find that it f*cking PISSES me OFF that they are messing with my reproductive rights because of THEIR screw up.

Yes, I have strong feelings about this. I am willing to compromise though - I called both Dr. Ney the perinatologist and Dr. Weinshel the Hematologist to discuss terms. Dr. Weinshel is willing possibly to compromise, but I have to go see him or his NP/PA in two weeks. I'd be willing to wait 3 months, or even 4 months. But a whole 6 months just seems stupid. At this rate, Alli is going to be 7 years old before there's a baby (or twins heh!) born. C'mon! It's soon or never. Dave's not getting any younger, either - he'll be 38 in October. I told him just today that his swimmers are old and dying quicker every day. He laughed, but he knows I'm right!

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I walked in the door last night - Alli didn't know I was coming home - and she raced down the stairs to tackle her Mommy. It was the sweetest and best hug EVER. It made me realize - again - how lucky I am. And how much my family loves me. Heck, Dave even cleaned the cat box for me. That is a major deal in our house.

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And so, Dr. Bitch released me to return to work today. I even kinda sorta asked to be released back on Thursday, but she said "You're able bodied, aren't you?" And idiot me, I responded with "Yes, I'm able bodied". Seriously, how can you explain to a stranger that being hospitalized exhausts you and you really aren't sure if you even have clean clothes to wear to work tomorrow because you were in the hospital over the weekend???!!! You just don't go there with someone who already treats you like an idiot.

So, I went to work today. Friends greeted me, I received hugs and well-wishes, a new plant, and a nice "Welcome Back" balloon. It's nice to feel the love. Now, dear reader, I head to bed as I am beyond exhausted and just want to get some good rest. Did I mention that to top everything off, the crimson tide decided to begin today? Yep, you got it.

Another day, another IV

I cried like a little girl this morning.

You want to know what brought down me, a 263 pound woman who's endured countless lab stabs and blood draws in the last decade...?

It was the thought that they had to put a NEW IV site in. Of all things.

A nice IV nurse, Marge, came in, took one look at the IV site and asked me if it hurt. Of course I'm going to say "no, it's fine" with a smile on my face when it took them 4 pokes to get it in in the first place.

She shook her head and said because my arm was a bit puffy, it meant they needed to do another IV; the current site was shot as the Heparin had infiltrated the tissue around my vein.

I cried. Silently at first as big, fat tears fell. I sobbed brokenly, but quietly as Marge looked on sadly. She knew what trauma her appearance would bring; she told me later she made alot of people cry without ever meaning to and was sorry for it.

She brought the IV accoutrements in and starting talking to me. Within seconds I felt a small poke and in another 5 seconds she was done. She secured it, apologized, and we talked for a few minutes more.

I found out why I had to endure the multiple punctures that I did the night I came into the ER. Marge filled me in: Apparently the hospital cut the budget and they were no longer offering IV Nurses from 11pm to 7am. All IV Nurses from that shift have either be reassigned or laid off. This is a bad thing.

However, it's over now. I have a new IV site, am still getting Heparin, and I think I don't have another lab stab until tomorrow morning.

They let me shower this morning; I was still hooked up to the IV though. It was a funny sight I'm sure, watching me walking to the shower, with the infusion machine in front of me. No, they aren't waterproof, unfortunately.

I wish I had a camera

I just WISH I could take a picture of my arms. They are all pretty purple and yellowish green in so many places... I can't wait for the freakin' IV to come out. I keep cringing every time I move my arm.

Wishing the Best to Roommate #2

Roommate #2 was my most favorite hospital roommate EVER, so far.

Talk about a spitfire! We were up talking until 3:30 in the morning on topics ranging from cancer to food, politics to health issues, to lab draws (or 'lab stabs' as I like to call them now).

Our nurse, Molly, would come in and get really involved in the conversations. We even learned at one point what a 'code 21' was for room 608. Apparently it means someone isn't too happy and needs to be restrained due to threatening physical violence. Yikes.

By the time we were done cackling and giggling, our room was nicknamed 'the party room' because the nurses would come in and visit and giggle with us about whatever we were talking about.

And then we were woken up around 6am for the lab guy.

And then we fell back asleep for another couple hours after breakfast.

Shortly after I'd finished eating, the surgeon came in for my roommate; within 20 minutes they decided they were going to perform the operation to draw out the fluid surrounding her lungs and then some.

We called to each other from across the hallway as they wheeled her away to surgery: "It's been a pleasure! Good luck!"

Apparently her surgery went well, and she is now on the 3rd floor - the 'surgical floor'.

And now...I am alone.

And so I surf the internet, praying to the Goddesses and Gods that I get to go home tomorrow. I won't know though until after they do my 7:30 am lab stab to draw for my INR numbers -- they want it between 2 and 2.5 -- yesterday it was 1.37. Yeah, not so good.

The Funny Thing about Pulmonary Embolisms...

Dave and I were curling up in bed late Friday night when I realized I couldn't get comfortable and it hurt more than usual to breathe, with a pulling sensation crossing my left side of my chest.

Chest pain.

ER.

Again, images of a week spent in the hospital flashed in front of my eyes.

Dave prodded me; we should just go.

In the ER, the docs decided to perform a CT or Cat scan to view my lungs and any major arteries. It took the poor ER nurse guy, John, 4 tries to find a good vein that was close enough to my heart. According to John and Courtney, the imaging tech, it has to be nearest to my heart as possible for the injectable dye to get where it needs to go.

I made it back to the ER room #12 and waited. Dave and Alli came to check on me a couple times. Around 3:30 am Saturday morning Dr. Sherri came to me and said they had found a suspicious mass on my lung that they were going to be determining to be a clot ... aka pulmonary embolism.

They immediately started Heparin via IV and I've been hooked up ever since.

My breathing has gotten easier, and the clot in my leg has already dissolved - no leg pain whatsoever. In the grand scheme of things, I am not as bad off as others.

My first roommate came in about an hour after I was settled - about 5am. In her lat 30s, she was a nice lady with Lupus and extreme depression. Most of Saturday night we spent talking about my sister's Lupus and how this lady could follow through and make herself better physically and emotionally. It was sad - by the end of her stay, Sunday morning, she was begging and demanding mental health help and was told that she had already been discharged according to her doctors and she was to follow outpatient care orders with her regular physicians.

I'll let you know how my second roommate works out - she sounds like fun. They just brought her in - she has lung cancer, has had a double mastectomy due to breast cancer, and is currently on oxygen --- she works as a secretary at the House of Reps in Minneapolis.

So all in all, I'm okay and in love with the chicken noodle soup here. There's always an upside.

Put your left leg in...

and leave it in.

I couldn't take it anymore, so yesterday, I went to my regular family practice clinic and saw a Physicians Assistant I had never seen before.

She looked at me, at my leg, and told me to call Friday morning and they would set me up with an ultrasound on my left leg.

Soooo...this morning, I talked to Bunny, who set up an 11:30am ultrasound at WestHealth. The tech who performed it, Jenny, was a very sweet and thorough woman who took 15 minutes alone just looking at the veins behind my knee. Altogether it took about half an hour for her to look over the entire leg. I was impressed and I knew something was wrong.

Sure enough, Jenny comes to get me and calls the PA I had seen at the clinic. The PA tells me they found a smallish clot behind my knee. I see spending the next week in the hospital flash before my eyes.... painful insertion of the IV... bad food... and all. I'm sure I had a mini panic attack right there.

The PA says she's going to call my Hematologist to get information together on what to do and if I should need to goto the hospital right away. Mind you, I've had two clots - the first one I was in the hospital for a week. The second one I was in for 3 days. I didn't know there was any other option.

The PA and my Hematologist discuss it; they will up my dosage of Lovenox to 2 shots a day 150mg each, PLUS I'll be taking Coumadin 10mg for an unspecified amount of time and I am told "you can't get pregnant for 6 months - we'll have you on the Coumadin for a 6 month cycle".

Coumadin crosses the placenta and can cause a number of problems in fetuses including birth defects. It's bad, baaaadd mojo on babies.

At the time, this doesn't concern me - I'm just ECSTATIC that I don't have to goto the hospital unless I experience other symptoms (shortness of breath, chest pain, etc to signify a possible pulmonary embolism).

The PA tells me to take it very easy this weekend, doing as little as possible and giving the meds time to work, with a check for INR and Protime on Monday morning with them. Yay. Another needle. Whoooppyyy!

So I go home after calling my supervisor from the ultrasound office, and start thinking. Who the HELL has the right to take away my reproductive rights? If they had put me on two shots of 100mg of Lovenox and kept me at that dosage, I doubt I'd be going through this right now, and I still would have been cleared for pregnancy.

I get real upset over this with Dave and he is on my side. He knows he's not getting any younger, and I don't want Alli to be so old that she can be copped into being a built in babysitter without me trying to make her that way. I'll be talking to Dr. Weinshel come Monday. I mean, sure, I can wait a couple months, but 6?? Alli will be 7 by the time the baby is born then, even if we conceived right away.

Sigh.

Yes, I know my health is important, and everything has been FINE up until now. If only they would have doubled my doses...

I solemnly swear not to do anything stupid. And once my leg feels better, sure, I can walk more, and FINALLY get to use the treadmill to take off a few random pounds. But still... it's not FAIR. Six months, my ass.

Baby Making

So on Tuesday I saw the Perinatologist, Dr. Ney.

Talk about EXCITING.

I spoke to a genetic counselor, Rachel, who disclosed information about the miscarriage like why it may have happened, and what they would like to do with me (genetic testing).

Apparently, there were two distinctly different sets of chromosomes - one for a boy, and one for a girl. TWINS. Yep, you got it! And from what they can tell, the boy had some extra undetermined genetic material and it screwed it up for that fetus's development. And, as all boys can be, he was naughty, and caused the pregnancy to term for himself and the female fetus around 6 weeks.

I know, you're probably thinking I should be sad, right? Well, I was. This was way back in October/ November that I went through this. I had some time to grieve, and then I got over it. There was no way my body could have pulled me out of pneumonia AND kept the pregnancy going... so it terminated on it's own. Viola. Miscarriage.

Still, the point of the story is that there were TWINS!!!! :) Excitement and incredulity bubbled inside me as I talked to Dr. Ney later and she approved me to get ready to start conceiving; just advising me to keep on with the generic prenatal vitamins, get some Omega 3, Vitamin C, and extra Calcium supplements and I should be good to go.

See. *sticks tongue out at disbelievers* Who said you can't be fat AND healthy? :P

Anyways... we got the green light both from Dr. Weinshel and Dr.Ney. We are a-go.

How was your Valentine's Day?

I didn't think Dave got me anything - and seriously, I would have been fine if he hadn't because of something he said the other night.

We were sitting on the couch together, snuggling, and watching that awesome USA cable show, "Monk".

Dave turns to me and says, "You're my Trudy." My heart seriously melted right then and there. He goes, "No, seriously, if something happened to you, I'd turn into him," he pointed at the actor Tony Shalhoub working as Mr. Monk on the TV.

Anyone who's seen "Monk" knows that the title character is basically OCD to the Nth degree and cannot shake hands, is afraid of milk, and a whole host of other neuroses. His wife Trudy was a reporter who was killed in a car bomb attack more than a decade ago in TV world and it drove Monk over the edge to the parody of humanity he appears as in the show.

I thought that was just the sweetest thing coming from Dave. Awwww.

But still, the boy did FAR more than I expected. He had some beautiful, gorgeous red roses sent to me from Calyx & Carola florists to my work. And then when I got home, he had the ever-traditional Vermont Teddy Bear waiting for me. This year he got me
a pirate bear we decided to name "Scurvey"

A nice, quiet dinner with Alli, and then a couple hours of uninterrupted...TV. Yes, we watched television and then passed out around 10:30pm. I still wasn't feeling well and my leg was bothering me. More on that in the next post.

Still, it was a wonderful Valentine's Day. :)

Can I blow your...vein?

After nearly four months without seeing a Hematologist, I FINALLY made it!!

For those new to reading, I have lived with ITP (Idio Thrombocyto Penia/Purpura = low platelet count) for the last nearly 15 years. Basically, it's an immunological disorder where my body fights itself - my white blood cells attack and destroy my platelets which help my blood clot.

When I was first diagnosed with this, I had about 8,000 platelets. The normal person has about 150,000 - 250,000.

I used to receive treatments by IV every 3-5 weeks of Gamma Globulin, which was to 'feed' the white blood cells and allow my platelets to reproduce into my normal range of about 60,000. Today, I still have a lower than normal range count of platelets, but I'm no longer in such danger of bleeding out. Yay me.

Now, add to this low platelet count a Factor 10 issue/Lupus anticoagulant.
What it breaks down to is I don't have a lot of platelets to start with, but the Factor 10/Lupus anticoagulant deficiency in my system tells my platelets to randomly make clots. Party time, anyone?

Soooo....I was diagnosed with that little nugget of joy after Alli was born nearly 6 years ago by my previous Hematologist, P.J. Flynn. Good doctor, just really freaking hard to get into see.

After this last trip I had to the hospital here back in October (I was out of work for a month with pneumonia), Dr. Weinshel from the same practice MOHPA (Minnesota Oncology/Hematology, PA.) came to see me at the hospital.

A rotund man with intelligent and eyes and a kind, pudgy face softened by spectacles, Dr. Weinshel is my current hero. He saw me today - squeezed me in really - and basically sat me down to tell me how things are going to be.

He said my leg most likely isn't a clot - I would KNOW if it was, and just to keep it rested as the muscles healed. He also said he is going to keep me on the Lovenox pre-conception, during the pregnancy (IF I ever get pregnant again! :) ), and for at least 2-3 months after baby is born. While on Lovenox, I don't need to come in every month for INR and Protime; but once I'm back on Coumadin after the birth, I'll have to go back to them every 2 weeks to a month for the standard INR and Protime checks.

He told me what I already knew though as far as I'm concerned: I'm a healthy person, in spite of any extra weight I carry, and there's no reason not to go ahead with purposefully trying to conceive and carry to term. :) It felt good to hear that from a physician.

And then he sent me to have labs drawn.

Keep in mind... again... this is a lab that draws blood from thousands of people a year that suffer through cancer, hemophilia, other blood disorders.

I get Brenda. Brenda uses a butterfly needle on an arm that has many battle scars, in a location I've never seen blood drawn from. I sit, zoning out, thinking she knows how to do her job. She gets one vial and stars the next. I look at the draw in the second vial and see two plops of blood fill it about an inch.

Brenda hisses out her breath and takes off the rubber band on my arm; "Well I guess I've blown it."

I look to my arm. Sure as hell, it's already puffy and turning bluish purple.

Brenda speaks again, "But I got what we needed. Thanks!"

Gathering up my purse and jacket, I wished her a good week.

On the bright side, at least she left a couple good veins for the people at MN Perinatology tomorrow.

But damn it hurts.

Words Women Use - Men, File Away for Future Reference

I got this from my myspace bulletin listing... heheheheheh

1.) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right, and you need to shut up.

2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means half an hour. Five Minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine (see #1).

4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

5.) Loud Sigh: This is not actually a word but a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. "That's okay" means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you - do not question or faint. Just say you're welcome.

8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying "%@&* YOU!"

9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "what's wrong" - for the woman's response refer to #3.

I Am Grace Itself in Motion

On Monday I know I reported that I'd gone to the ER and they did the ultrasound to
see if I had any blood clots and that came back negative which is a good thing.

However, on Wednesday, just as my leg was feeling somewhat better, I biffed it in the parking lot and now have a huge raspberry on my right knee.

Yep, that's me, Miss Graceful.

I was walking out of work, la de da de da, being careful not to slip and fall and sure enough, my foot went out from under me and I landed on my right knee with my left leg at God knows what angle. I popped right back up as others in the parking lot were asking me if I was okay, calling out that I was fine, and that getting out stains is what Shout is for.

Upright once again, I was walking even more gingerly the next two steps, and fell flat on my arse again. Five stinkin' feet from my van... and I was just about ready to crawl. I made myself get up again and slowly trudged to the van. Once inside I pulled up my pant leg and saw the damage; sliced skin around the edges, missing skin in the middle bigger than the size of a silver dollar.

I drove home with my pant leg rolled up and blood dripping down my leg in a thin stream.

So fast forward to today - Sunday - my left leg has still been hurting, and I am almost certain that this can be attributed to my ungracious spill. It doesn't have the standard clot feeling of a never ending 'charley horse', but the muscles are definitely sore. Tylenol or Alleve helps with the soreness so I'm not too terribly worried right now. Just resting up.

Tomorrow I get to see Dr. Weinshel, my new Hematologist. We'll see what evil mad-scientist tests he wants to run on me. And yes, I'll make sure he knows about my leg.

Good Food, Good Company

Saturday
Beckah came over with Village Wok for lunch. Oy. That was a descent into mind-numbing goodness. Alli was trying to stab her chicken at one point, where a piece nearly flew off her plate. Yes, she's still learning to use her 'chiny sticks' as she calls them.

In order to walk off some of the calories consumed from lunch we had agreed beforehand that I would take Beckah and Jenn to Trader Joe's for their first taste there. We picked up Jenn and heading onto Trader Joe's.

4:20pm
We are finally inside Trader Joe's after fighting through the traffic and circling the parking lot 1 full time.
TJ = Specialty food store galore with low-cost, organic, low fat, varieties of foods. Seriously, when you can get 64oz of vanilla/chocolate/original soy milk for $2.49; or yummy pumpkin spice sorbet for $2.99; or garlic naan bread for $1.99; many different specialty cheeses - like goat herb, Dubliner, smoked jack, Cotswold (pub cheese), gruyere, and fabulous fruity stilton....yummm...most less than $4.99 for a large chunk.

Anyways... it's packed. Even after 4pm on Saturday. The yuppies are out and about in full force. Some of the shelves are empty, especially some of the bread baskets. Sigh.

It's not the way I wanted to present TJ to B & J, but they seemed to go with the flow of the traffic. I'm just sorry we didn't have more room to browse. Seriously, there were aisles that were 3 people deep on each side; case in point being the frozen foods section. Alli almost got run over on our way back from the bathroom. Ahhh... NOW I remember why we usually go only on Sunday mornings bright and early.

We made it out and headed back here so they could get out to the Y to work out. HA! You can't use visiting me as an excuse to avoid working out. Nanny nanny boo boo... :P ;)

They made it back later for pizza - homemade except for the crust. Believe me, anything you guys want with mushrooms, you can make sure to take home. hehehe.

I have to say, it'd been a while since I'd laughed so hard. :)

What I did this weekend

Dave worked. I chilled with Alli, watching "The Sound of Music" amongst other family favorites of her choice. Yes, my daughter likes musicals. I can't help it.

Dave and I had the best weekend we've had in a long time - so good in fact, I apparently suffered a *ahem* "sports injury" as we like to call it. *giggles*

Well, my leg has been hurting on and off since our activities this weekend, and it started to worry me as it seemed similar to my previous experiences with DVTs (deep vein thrombosis - translation: blood clots); my left leg is slightly swollen by half a centimeter more than my right, and there's a certain tautness in the back of my calf....

So I dragged Dave and Alli with me to the ER for moral support tonight. We arrived there around 6:45pm and left none the worse for wear about 9:50pm, tucking Alli into bed by 10:05.

The docs performed an ultrasound on my leg to verify there were no DVTs - after waiting for a while. Honestly, I was cool with it - we packed some coloring books and markers for Alli to keep her occupied - and there were sicker people than I waiting to be seen. I heard something about a car accident at one point.

Anyways... the doc pronounced me fine - making sure to state it's 85% reliable. Geeze. That makes me feel better.

And the standard line "Go back to your doctor if you feel any changes for the worse, yada yada yada...."

So now, we are home. I've learned 2 things: always bring snacks to the ER, and don't try to be too active all in one weekend. hehehehe.

This caught my eye

This article on MSNBC.com caught my eye and just about made me cry.

Seems people lost their lives senselessly because no one wanted to be made or look for the company to be made accountable for a malfunctioning device. Granted, nothing is ever perfect, but C'MON guys!

My dad was a firefighter on the Vandenburg AFB in Vandenburg, CA for about a decade before heading on and becoming a contractor for NASA. I still have my dad's huge red protectant helmet. He passed away several years ago, about 12 now, but I'm sure he didn't have half of the gadgets they do now. He was lucky, I guess, though I'd never heard him tell his stories.

A firefighter is a firefighter is a firefighter. They all deserve at least a working device to assist in saving their lives.


Grrr...

On a Different Note..

I was ELATED to find out today that the release for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is July 21st, 2007. WOOHOO!

Now, just waiting another 6 months for it...

At least we'll have seen HP: OOtP the movie on opening night on July 13th, so not too much longer we'd have to wait for book 7.

I was going into a panic attack when I realized I hadn't pre-ordered it yet. *L*

I was talking to Dave during my lunch today when I mentioned the book coming out.

Dave: "So I'm going to be a Potter Widower then, right? I won't hear from you for like days...."

Me: "Awww...honey..it won't take me days to read it; just 12 to 36 hours. IF I stop to sleep."