Nearing the end of a bad year

For anyone following my blog you have noticed I gave up on it last January. It was just getting too depressing writing about all the bad things that seems to be happening to us. Well, this has been a very tough year for our family but we are counting our blessing as well as counting down the days until 2010. Next year just has to be a better year than 2009 was. So I am excited to start up my blog again. Bigger and Better things are coming soon.
As say this as I sit here at midnight recovering from minor surgery I had today. Why shouldn't this be how our year ends...It starting with my husband, Kevin, having major spinal surgery last January.
Tomorrow we are expecting a big snow storm, not good since I still have things to do for Christmas. We still have not gotten our Christmas tree, yet. Kevin and Kelly went out after her church group's Christmas party tonight but the tree lot was already closed. So tomorrow will be xmas shopping, tree shopping, winterizing the backyard and then hopefully some scrapping time with my sister.

Jan 24

Dad is insisting that he is going to go watch Tim's volleyball game. I am nervous it will be too much for him. We shall see how it goes.

Not only did he handle Tim's game but he went to Kelly's basketball game, too. Total of about 1 1/2 hours he spent out of the house. He is tired and sore tonight but he was thrilled to get out and do something normal.

Jan 23

I am really tired so this is going to be short. Kevin is doing well. He is sore and needs assistance with everything, but he is getting up and walking around the house a little bit. Progress.

At 8:00 pm he commented that we should have been sitting on a airplane that very second heading to Florida. I tried to remind him things could have turned very differently 8 days ago and "you may never have had a chance to sit in this very chair and read that clock ever again so don't being worrying about sitting on any airplanes, yet."

Jan 22

Kevin is home!! Karen was his nurse today. She has been great right from the first day of admitting. She has only been on three times since Kevin was there but she was his favorite nurse, Veronica being his second favorite. She told him she was going to do everything she could to get him released today and she did.
My friend, Rose took the ride in with me to pick him up. He was back in his own house before the kids even got out of school. What a great surprise that was for them.
I know it is going to be tough for a while but he is so glad to be in his own house again. Now lets gets him better as fast as we can. He came home with a molded back brace made out of a hard plastic and velcro straps along with a cane to support him when he walks. I wasa hoping to get a photo of his homecoming but he didn't want any pictures so today's photo is of Skittles lying in his pillows. She was so excited to see Dad walk in the door!! She missed him as mush as the rest of us.

Jan 21

Wednesday. Kevin thought he would be coming home tomorrow but they Doctors and nurses are concerned. He has not had any normal body functions yet and he can't leave until he does. So it may not be until Friday now. He is very upset. He called me at least 5 times at work today. I went in right after work again and stayed until 9 again tonight. I have to get some rest or I am not going to be able to handle it when he does come home. I looked around my house tonight. What a mess. For the past 8 days my house has merely been a dumping zone. I have not been in the house long enough to do anything. The are piles of unread mail, newspapers and magazines are piled up, laundry is getting backed up again. And I have not gone grocery shopping in 2 weeks now. We have no milk, bread, eggs,etc The cupboards are looking pretty bare.

I told my Boss Kevin is either coming home tomorrow or Friday so this would be my last day for a while. He was fine with it but asked if I could get payroll set up for my sub.

Even if Kevin does not come home tomorrow my To Do List is to get the house ready for him.

I went in tonight to see him. He was very down in the dumps about being there still and the nurse was waiting for my daughter and I to leave to do another treatment to him so we left early tonight. 8:30. We will see what tomorrow brings.

Jan 20

The kids went to school and I went back to work. Kevin called me at work shortly after arriving. He was very dissapointed I was there. He was hoping my Boss would send me home so I could drive in and spend the day with him. I know I am going to need my sick days when he gets discharged so I can't afford to take any while he is still in the hospital.

I have to admit I was pretty useless at work, though. I spent more time talking to my friends and co-workers about what happened and how Kevin was doing. Then when I had time I was on the phone cancelling our Disney vacation we were scheduled to leave in three more days, Jan 23rd. Everyone I spoke with was wonderful and were able to help out either by cancelling our reservations at no charge or putting reservations on hold until a later date. Our airfare was another story. They did not give a care to our problems and charged us nearly half what we paid as a cancellation fee. Makes me not want to fly that airline again, EVER.

On top of all that I still am dealing with our banking issues. I have had over $1,000 withdrawn from my account by someone in Eurpope, so not only am I losing money but I am being charged ATM fees along with Foreign exchange fees. Just lovely! I know the bank is being great trying to fix these for me but I cring everytime I pull up my account and see all those transactions. I have not even told my DH about this year. The extra stress is not needed now.

After work The kids and I spent the rest of the day with Dad. The kids did their typical argueing. Kevin said he felt like he was home listening to them. We left around 9 pm. I am exhausted. Good night.

Jan 19

Its a holiday today. Martin Luther King Day so no work. I got up extra early to head into the hospital to spend the whole day with Kevin. 7:00 AM I looked out the window and wanted to cry. At least another 8 inches of snow feel while I was sleeping. My car is buried in the driveway again!!!
I headed out with the snow gear to shovel out once again. I lasted 1/2 an hour before my asthma kicked in and made me quit. A 30 minute Tea Break and I was ready to head out again. This time Tim was up so he went out with me. We got it all cleared by about 9. So we headed in. Dad was thrilled to see us. Tim stayed home and promised to finish clearing the rest of the snow away. Kelly and I had a very nice day hanging out with Dad. We played cards, watched TV and talked. We headed home at 9:00 that night. Dad was up and walking more today. It was a very positive day.

Jan 18

No trip to the hospital today. I woke up to snow. This is another torturous day. I am paranoid to drive in the snow, so my DH is all by himself for the day. I knew there was a chance of bad snow today so I took a family photo last night, printed it, and framed it to bring in last night just in case we could not get in. We also brought in his collection of James Bond movies to get through the day. But, my not being able to be there for him bothers me ssssoooo much.
The kids have been really great about all this. Both of them were out shoveling the driveway and walkway once the snow stopped. My daughter has been helping me get caught up on the laundry... We are trying to make the best of it but I really want to be there with him. I keep telling myself "he needs his rest, if I were there he would try to stay awake to keep me company, at least this way he will rest every chance he gets"

Well, the day just got incredibly worse. I was online paying some bills when I notice all these crazy transactions. Someone got a hold of my debit card number and has been withdrawing all my money since last Monday!!! As much as I hate driving in the snow I jumped in my car to find a bank branch open on a Sunday. The girl at the bank put my mind at ease by saying they wil close out my account and refund all missing money. The bad news - it will take up to 10 business days. Thats means I have to wait until Feb 1st before I get any of my money back. Can anything else happen to my family this month?

Jeepers it is only 7:45, it feels like the day is stretching on forever!

Jan 17

Day One after surgery.

Kevin looks so much better today. I spent the whole day with him with one break to drive home and pick up the kids and bring them back in town to see Dad. The kids knew Daddy had gotten hurt but did not know the extent until I talked to them last night. After seeing how much better Dad looked today, it was time for them to see for themselves.

As soon as Dad saw them he started to cry, though. He kept apologizes for ruining their vacation. We were leaving for Disney World this coming Friday (Jan 23)

I just thank god he is alive and able to move. Disney can wait. Now the long slow process of healing.

Jan 16

This morning Kevin called me at 7 to say they just finally did the MRI and the moving around has him in agony again. They do not think the surgery will end up being today due to how busy the OR schedule is. I ran to work for a few minutes, talked to my boss, took care of a few pressing things and went home to pack a bag for Kevin. He called while while I was still at the house to say that an OR opened up and they are taking him NOW. I dropped everything and jumped in the car. There was NO WAY he was going in for surgery with out seeing my face first. It took me 20 minutes to drive from Quincy to Downtown Boston (luckily nothing happened on the way) I got to his floor just as they were wheeling him out of his room. He saw me!!! I got to give him a kiss and off he went.

the waiting room. They should call it the torture chamber. The one positive thing was to hear how far people have traveled to see the doctors and surgeons in this hospital. I spoke with people from all over the country that brought loved one to this hospital. The nurses told me people fly here from other country for the the doctors in this hospital. That was good to hear.

but still the waiting is unbelievable! It took 8 hours from the time I kissed him Good Luck" to actually see his face again.

The surgery went better then expected. the surgeon very happy with how everything went. Told me he would have a back brace for a few weeks, but then should be able to walk without it. They had to fuse 4 vertebra together with pins and a rod, but no nerve damage. Thank you Heaven!!!
Today's photo is the Torture Chamber/waiting room.

Jan 15

I hope this is not a prelude to how the year 2009 is going to be. I look back at what has happened already.
Ordered a Kit, and I not getting it , yes I am, no I'm not, yes I am, well maybe...
Husband's truck got hit, minor not much damage, but still, that's his baby.
Son goes to ER - has pneumonia
Heat goes off in the coldest spell we have has this winter
and now today...

I got a phone call at work from my brother in law...
My husband got hurt at work, Don't panic, he looks banged up but he is moving and talking so we called an ambulance. He is on his way to Mass General
A few minutes go by, after the initial shock I HAVE to know more. I call my husband myself. He answered his cell phone. So I take this as a very good sign. He can barely speak though, due to pain. He is in the ambulance and every bump and turn has him in agony. I talked to a friend...make arrangements to watch my kids (one is still home running a fever with pneumonia, and head into the hospital... In the time it takes for me to get to him a resident doctor, and ortho doctor and a surgeon have already seen him. This can't be good. He doesn't look too bad but definitely in pain. The resident is doing an ultra sound. Says ribs look OK, does not see internal damage to vital organs. Ortho Doctor comes in, explains about the damage to the back. A crushed vertebrae, but not that bad. Could live a normal life once pain subsides. May even still be able to go on our Disney vacation next week, minus going on any rides. Kevin gets sent for a Cat scan to get a better look.
Two doctors come in together this time. There is more damage than first suspected. Not only is the vertebra crushed but is is also out of line and pushed back toward the spinal cord. Surgery highly recommended, we will schedule it as soon as possible. Now he will be going for an MRI to get even better results as to how the nerves are involved around this crushed bone.
Kevin got moved to a regular room in the meantime while waiting. Told NOT TO MOVE AT ALL until surgery the next day. 10 pm this evening a Trauma Specialist comes to see us. We asked "Why are you here? We have already seen so many doctors, why a trauma doctor now?" "I am going to be keeping an eye on things. The surgeons have been mostly concerned with you back problems I am here because of the 4 fractures ribs." Boy, the news keeps getter worse and worse.
My girlfriend has been at my house for 9 hours now. It is time for me to head home and let her go home to her own family.

My photo today is the monitor regulating his oxygen levels.

Jan 14

Next saga for the McDonald Family...

We woke up this morning to no heat. Of coarse the coldest front of the season is hitting us right now. The next 2 days are going to be below zero temperatures. Luckily the heat must have just gone off shortly before I woke up. My alarm clock went off and usually i will stay in bed a minute or two to wake up before heading to the basement and my morning walk on the treadmill. This morning my darling husband nudged me to say "aren't you working-out this morning?" I said the house feels chilly. I looked at the thermostat and it was 62 (it should have read 65 until 6:00 when it goes up to 68)So I tried to turn the heat up some and it would not go on.

Kevin got up and played with it and nothing. So he went done to the furnace. Its a gas furnace and the ignition flame would not go on. Calls to the gas company were useless. The very nasty gentleman that answered the phone said "Not my problem, call a plumber!"

My photo for today is of the furnace cover off while my husband tried some trouble shooting.

In the meantime my main concern was what do I do with my son that has pneumonia? Do I call out of work and head to a hotel with him? Do I leave him home with Dad in hopes he gets the heat back on quickly? We bundled him up and sent him to school. I felt terrible doing this but truly hoped the heat would be back on very quickly and Dad could go grab our Tim and get him back in his own bed very quickly. As it turned out he spent the day sleeping in the nurses office. She was wonderful!!

The heat didn't get back on until 8:00 tonight. We ran out and bought some space heaters early in the day. We were getting ready to bring our dog to the kennel for the night and find a hotel but Thank goodness it finally on. What a wonderful feeling warmth is.

Jan 13

Well Tim is home sick today. He got home from the Emergency Room around 12:30 this morning. They are treating him for Pneumonia. He is on antibiotics, bed rest and lots of fluids.
So the photo today is of his hospital bracelet that he did not want to have cut off yet. Its like a battle scar. Something to show for his trouble. I feel bad that I had to work today but at least I am only 5 minutes away. I went to check on him at lunch time and got home by 3:15.

This hasn't interfered with his appetite at all. It amazes me how much food teenage boys can devour and never gain an ounce. It is harder to get him to keep drinking fluids.

Jan 12

All day long I thought about my photo for the day. I just knew it would hit me when I saw it. Well, this wasn't what I was expecting but this is it.


This is what I have been glancing at for the past hour and 17 minutes, no 18 minutes. My phone.
My son came up from his room complaining that his heart was racing. I told him to stay with me and his father for a while so we could keep an eye on him. After 30 minutes is just sitting still his heart was still racing. I called the pediatrician and she said not to hesitate...Get in to the ER right away. Everything could be just fine but that was the place he should be. They would do an EKG and see what was going on.
So off my husband and son went, while I tried to get my daughter to go to sleep. Still waiting for this phone to ring. I have gotten 4 calls...
The first from my husband letting me know they arrived and checked in, but were in the first waiting room waiting to get called for a nurse to do vitals.
The second - My sister just checking in. Sisters always know when you need them. I was glad she called. It calmed me down for a few minutes.
The third - my best friend, Rose. I did not realize my son was texting her son saying he was in the hospital. So she was nervous and offered to come over and wait it out with me. What a great friend. Of coarse, Kelly would never go to sleep is Rose was here so I am sticking it out on my own.
The fourth call - Kevin again. Vitals got checked and they did not seem too concerned. So far things appear normal but the doctors will check him out further. On to the next waiting room.
Now I sit and wait for the next call.

Jan 11

More snow today. This is the 4th snow storm so far this winter and they have all left a good amount of snow. I am already tired of winter this year and it's only just begun. Tim's basketball game got cancelled because they could not get the schooled cleared soon enough for the game. We got the call just as we were heading out the door to go to the game, thank goodness.

Becky Higgins sent out a download for images from the CK Project 365. I downloaded them and started putting my own book together using 12x12 page protectors I had from Close to My Heart. They are already split up for 4x6 photos so they are perfect for this kit. Today's photo for my album was my husband out with the snow blower but for this blog I decided to add a photo of what my 365 album is starting to look like. I still need to go back in and add the weekly dates but I am really liking this project so far.

Jan 10

This was the 4th game of the season but the first win for Kelly's team. She played incredible today. She was awesome in defense as today's photo shows. She stole the ball about 8 times. She made at least 6 baskets and just played her best game, yet. We were so proud of her.

Jan 9

It has been cancelled twice already but the staff party finally has come and gone. This is fun night to socialize with everyone. The party was starting right after work at 3:00 pm, but due to the kids schedules we had to do a bit of juggling before we could get there. Kelly had a Girl Scout meeting, Tim had a Basketball practice, they both had their church group meeting. We did finally get to relax after 7. We lasted until almost midnight and called it a night. There were many people still there when we left. It was lots of fun.

Today's photo is of my gift from the Yankee Swap. I brought a gift bag with some popcorn, soda and a $10 gift card to Blockbusters for a movie rental. I almost took my own gift back home but traded with someone else for this chip and dip bowl with dipping sauce. I was happy. I would have taken a photo at the party but didn't think to bring my camera so I took this photo once I got home.

Jan 8

Sick Day.

I have had conjunctivitis before, but never this bad. By 6:16 last night I could no longer handle the lights inside the house so I went to bed. This morning I could not even open my eye without pain. So I spent the day in bed with a dark blanket over my window to keep the sunlight out. Luckily it was feeling better this evening, even though my daughter was nice enough to inform me that my eye looked "really bloody and gross!" Tomorrow should be a better day.

Jan 7

Today there was a 2 hour delay for school. Yes!! I can sleep in. School should start at 10:15 everyday. Then instead of getting up at 5:20 am I could sleep until at least 7 and I would have plenty of time to workout, eat breakfast, do a load of laundry, not only wash my hair but take the time to dry it and even straighten it. What a beautiful world that would be.

Today's photo is looking out my front window this morning at the snow, ice, and slush.

Jan 6

Counting down the days for vacation. Today's photos is of the summer clothes that arrived today my for my darling husband.

Mon Jan 5

It was a crazy day to begin with. Woke up to sheer ice everywhere. Drive to work was a little scary, but we got there safely. I had major pile of working waiting for me at my desk. The Boss was nice to come in over the weekend to find extra things for me to do today. At least an hour went by befreo I even got a breather to put my lunch in the refrigerator or even take my snow boots off. But the day did improve.

Once I got home I checked me e-mails. I got my confirmation from CK saying I AM getting my kit. Yes!!! Then I found out I won the Jan 1 give-away of my scent, Ay Carumba! This day did turn out better than it started.

I am very excited about this new project, so my photo for today is my computer screen showing the website that came up with the idea of taking a Photo A Day.

Jan 4

New goal for 2009 is spending less money. So today's photo was Organizing coupons. My old coupon holder was falling apart so I got a plastic one and starting cutting out coupons. Today's shopping trip I saved over $40 in coupons thanks to www.thegrocerygame.com If anyone here should decide to give it a try please use my name as a referral, Sharon McDonald. There is a one month trial period for $1.00. That is what I am doing. First week wasn't bad at all.

Sat Jan 3

New hair color day. Went from Blonde to a more strawberry blonde. I like it!

first day of the year

I know I am already a few days behind, but I am setting up this new Blog to help me work on my 365 project. To take one photo every day of the year and journal about the photo.