Crazy Busy!

With the recent launch of my on-line business Venus Designs along with all of my usual medical preoccupations, I've been very busy over the past month or two. Since I haven't made the formal announcement about my business in this blog yet, let me do so now.

I’ve launched a new handmade accessories on-line store, Venus Designs. I carry a wide range of trendy and eclectic items from various types of jewelry to knitting & crocheting accessories. In the future I plan on expanding my line to include felt toys for children as well as any other projects that “tickle my fancy”! Please take a moment and visit my new shop at www.venusdesigns.artfire.com and if you could just take a moment to send me your feedback and of course orders are welcome too!

Considering the time, I'm going to close this post for now, but hope to post again tomorrow.

Crafts Pictures

Hey everyone!
Really quick... I uploaded pictures of some of the things I've been making lately. Here's the website: http://picasaweb.google.com/virgotigergirl/Crafts#
Check out the photos and let me know what you think!
~Lisa

It's Been a While...

Wow...It's been about 3 weeks since I posted to this blog and it's about time for an update. Don't you think?!

Let me say...Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and all that jazz.

Nate's been studying like mad for his Chief's Exam, which is tomorrow. I think he'll do great! Wish him luck, okay?

I've been staying busy working on crafts and making jewelry - my latest hobbies. I've also had a few doctor appointments and have been stressing over my latest surgery's incision; it's still not 100% healed.

I've been battling the pain of EDS since I've been so much more active than usual. Thankfully I have a great doctor who is continuing to titrate my interthecal pump up to a level that will control the pain.

To be honest, that about covers it. I'll try to do a better job of posting updates much more often - at least once a week, but we'll see. :-D

Ugh.

I went to the surgeon's office yesterday and saw a Physician's Assistant, Earle Grey, about my slow healing incision. He examined the horribly irritated area and said I was definitely having an allergic reaction to the adhesive in the strips used to hold the incision together. The skin under the strips was actually burned and dying - YUCK! Luckily the incision itself was closed and not infected. I simply have to treat the area with hydro-cortisone twice a day and it will clear up on it's own.

While there I also asked him about the swelling I have in my feet and now my hands too. He didn't think it was related to my surgery so I have to see my primary doctor. To add to the fun I also have a rash that started on my foot but has spread to other parts of my body now too. Yay.

General Update

I must say once again that it is so nice to have Nathan home again. I know he really enjoyed his time in Louisiana and it was only two weeks, but it felt much longer and I missed him terribly!

Papa left on Saturday morning; it was sad for him to leave. Nate and I really enjoyed his company and all of his help while he was here. He even rearranged our living room for us saving me and especially Nathan, a ton of work! If you read this, thank you Papa!

My incision (from my surgery to tie down my pump) is healing much slower than I'd hoped and is still incredibly painful. I'll call the surgeon's office tomorrow to make a follow-up appointment and to ask about the slow healing and severe pain. To add to the annoyance, I have a rash that covers my entire belly! Part of it is from the adhesive from the tape holding down the bandage and the rest is from the binder I have to wear until Christmas Eve. My belly is covered in red, itchy bumps - SO annoying!

I also have to contact my primary doctor tomorrow because I've managed to sprain my right ankle and injure my left ankle too. Both feet are so swollen they feel like giant bruises if I walk or simply touch them.

When I get answers from my doctors, I'll be sure to post another update.

Nate's Home & I Can't Sleep

I'm so happy to have my awesome hubby home! Nate had been in Louisiana for two weeks, which felt like a month to me! When he's not with me it's like my right arm is missing. (I love you babe!) I'm relieved that he made it home safe. His flight was delayed due to bad weather and about five minutes after he landed it started to sleet and we had a brief ice storm. What timing!

It's 1:47AM and I can't sleep. This is nothing new. Lately I'm able to fall asleep quickly, but can't stay asleep and tend to get up for a couple hours around this time.

I know these blogs have been relatively boring lately, but my life isn't exactly filled with excitement. I'm hoping to start making these post more interesting, but I'm not sure how I'm going to do that. Just don't give up on us!

Much love and many hugs to all!

And the web page is...

www.hazellinfo.weebly.com

Our new information webpage!

Hello everyone!

I've finished building a one page website that contains our up-to-date...
E-mail addresses
Our MySpace profiles
Our blogs
Address & phone numbers
and more.

In the future we’ll be adding more links and more information such as other site profile pages and a photo gallery link.

Please save this page because anytime anything changes THAT'S where we will be posting the change! Thanks!

*hugs*
~Lisa

PS: You'll see this message a few times and in a few places.

The Surgery Went Great!

The surgery couldn't have gone any smoother! It started and ended right on time and we left the hospital by 1:30PM! Last night was good because the numbing shots were still working, but due to the sodium IV they gave me my feet were more swollen than ever before and very painful.

This morning when I woke up the swelling in my feet had gone away but the incision hurt really bad because the area had started to swell just as the doctor expected. I took the anti-inflammatory that they prescribed and within an hour the pain was gone! YAY!

Although I'm feeling better than expected, I'm still going to take it easy today. I have a whole list of things I can work on while sitting down and relaxing.

Papa's Here & My Surgery is on it's Way

My Papa arrived in Maryland on Friday, December 5th - YAY!! I love it when he visits us. I'm so grateful that he is here. He's always such a big help to me and our household. Nathan and I appreciate Papa's help everytime he visits; he really is a godsend.

As I said before, Nathan is out of town until the 16th and my surgery is tomorrow. In the morning Papa will take me to the hospital at 8AM and I'll go into surgery at 10AM. The procedure itself should only take 30-60 minutes; after that I'll recover for a short time and then go home by that afternoon.

I will try to update this blog as soon as possible post-surgery. Considering I have to wear the binder for two weeks, I'm not sure how soon I'll be able to post again. Then again, it is a very basic surgery and the recovery time isn't expected to be that long.