Luck of Gladstone Gander

My brother's nickname is Unca...for Unca Scrooge. For obvious reasons if you know him.
I have always been lucky...and more and more recently my brother has been calling me Gladstone Gander. If you know anything about the comics, you know this is fitting. :)

I think I have channeled all of my Gladstone Gander luck for a while.
Here I will tell you why- please bear with me, it is a little long.....but worth reading.

I went in Thursday (4/21/11) for a scheduled monthly ob appt. ultrasound.
Got the US first, and I pretty much knew something was up immediately. The tech wasn't chipper and talkative. After 20 seconds and seeing her brow furrowed she said. "Have you been contracting?"
Me: a little, I have had a stomach bug.
Her: I have to stop right now- your cervix is funneling and need to talk to Michelle (nurse practitioner) to see if she needs to do anything. Like right now.

Okay, maybe there was more, but idk. That was the gist of it.

Apparently my cervix was 0.6cm..to give you an idea, normal is 3.5-4.5 cm

Like basically nothing. Nada. A push away from a toilet birth, and a likely demise seeing as I was 24weeks 4 days at the time. Viability for a baby is called 24 weeks, meaning that is the point they will intubate and try to resuscitate a birth, but that is still really really young.

I was instructed to go straight to the high risk doctors office at first, and then they told me to just go to Labor and Delivery at the hospital after they talked to the doctor. I was instructed to not push on my abd, try to poop, push or anything like that. The told me that I would being 'getting a stitch' put in to close up my cervix.

I got to the hospital around 400/415 and got admitted and all that good stuff. IV started, labs drawn etc. I tried to cope with it in my way- humor. Lance did wonderfully and handled it all well. I called my friend Kristie and she was wonderful and went by our house and got clothes for Lance and stuff so he could leave and go to work straight from the hospital the next morning if I was still there.

We are blessed to have her as a friend. She stayed with Lance while I was back in surgery, and and stayed until I got out of recovery and into my room for the night. I know she helped keep Lance calm while he was waiting. I am so thankful for her.

They wheeled me away to surgery, and I got a spinal. The process of of getting one was not bad at all. They had my legs hoisted up and hanging from basically hooks. I will forever have an image of my cherry red toenails peeking out from drapes where my legs were being hung like two huge hamhocks in a meat locker. I remember thinking those are MY legs...I can't wiggle my toes. How the heck did they get them UP there. Then I got the giggles. I think the staff thought I was nuts. LOL.

I was totally with it during the procedure. They tugged and pulled and managed to close me up with a McDonald's cerclage. This stitch will stay in place until I am 36 weeks (second week in July)

It was pretty much done in about 20 minutes, but as per usual the set up and then the clean up and getting me to recovery took longer. Here is the deal...after they were done, they got my legs and put them back down on the stretcher....then I tried to move. Obviously I couldn't. I don't know if it was that, but if it was the fluid shift after putting my legs down...but I kinda freaked out. I was trying to move and couldn't. Basically I KNEW it was stupid, but I had a full blown anxiety attack. I just had to work through it, and it got better when I was distracted.

I had another small one in recovery wen the nurse was asking me if I could move my foot, and I tried to. It was the NOT being able to move that freaked me out. Once Lance and Kristie could come back and distract me it was better.

I was pretty quickly moved back up to the Labor and Delivery dept. where the plan was to watch me until I could walk/go pee/my pain was under control and I wasn't having contractions. I started having pretty yucky contractions when I got the feeling back in my legs and I had a morphine PCA pump (thank you Jesus), and they gave me a few doses of turbutiline.

That turbutiline was crazy. It would stop/slow my contractions, but boy howdy did it make me shake like I had a palsy. It was crazy!!!!!!

Lance had to get up and go to work since he was on call for the weekend and ALL of his practice partners were out of town. Murphy's Law huh? Luckily my friend Kathy came that morning before Lance had to go into work and sat with me until my Mom could get here.

I had called Mom the night before as soon as I found out I WAS going to have to have surgery. I called her at work, and her boss answered the phone. I know it is busy if the doctor answers the phone- normally I just say never mind. But when he told me "Lynda is busy, can I take a message?" I said "no, this is Laura I really need to talk to her" He just said "oh" and set down the phone. Within 5 seconds my mom was on the phone. :)

All I had time to say was "Now, don't freak out- we are all okay. I am in the hospital and have to have surgery to stitch me up. Can you come down tomorrow?" "Yes" she said, that is really all I remember.....she said I told her which hospital I was at, etc. etc....but I don't remember that. I guess stress really does make you forget stuff.

I got a clear liquid breakfast- and I have to tell you that was the best beef broth EVER. LOL. The italian ice was yummy also! :) considering I came out of surgery starving...I was ready for food in the am. :)

Anyways, Lance went off to work in the AM and my mom got there around 1pm or so.

We just hung out while I pushed the marker button to show my contractions, and they got farther and farther apart. I ended up getting two total shots of turbutiline to help with the contractions. I also kept pushing the morphine PCA pump. LOL. Hey, no sense being in pain....plus pain was causing more contractions and we didn't want that!

They were aiming for a 23 hour observation so that meant I was shooting to get out of there by 4pm. it worked out well b/c by 3 or so I wasn't having any contractions and the pain was well controlled without the morphine. They had started me on oral pain meds that worked smashingly.

I got wheeled out at 4pm on the DOT so they didnt' have to change me over to an admission, and it was easier on the insurance. Just fine with me.

Mom and I came home and chilled. I got on the TV to show her the BBC America channel and how they always have Law and Order UK on there....and discovered that it is a Doctor Who marathon weekend b/c the new season started last night.

Mom was ecstatic b/c she doesn't get BBC America in Alabama. SO, we recorded all of them and have been watching them. I have introduced her to the JOY of DVR and fastforwarding through commercials. LOVE IT!!!!

We are currently watching the season finale from last season...and the next episode will be last night's season premier of Doctor Who in America. :) WOOO HOOOO!!!!

So here we are hanging out. I am doing really good, just a little bored. LOL. I can't sit up too long or I get some pain, but I can sit up a longer today than I could yesterday. Little by little.

We are beyond blessed, and I guess it is hitting me more now that it is over and done with. I suppose I wouldn't let myself think too much about the gravity of the situation before the surgery. I didn't Google funneling, and I asked Lance not to- or at least not tell me all the info if he did. Sometimes knowledge is power...sometimes ignorance is bliss.

I am very lucky that we got this ultrasound. I have had no problems up till now, so it was really just a whim that my doc did it. I am lucky I was still 24 weeks- this is generally the cut off for cerclages. Any later and I would probably have been on complete bed rest in the hospital until delievery.

We are lucky that nothing happened when I was on the many plane rides I took recently.

We are lucky nothing happened IN the Bahamas.

Our doctor said that if this wasn't caught she believed I would have delivered in the next few days....more than likely when I strained doing something- obviously most likely on the toilet. If this were to have happened there is a HIGH likelihood the baby wouldn't have made it being born so early out of the hospital.

I keep having all these thoughts come into my head to be thankful for....how lucky and blessed we are that this was caught since I really wasn't having real symptoms.

The baby has always been really really low. Even at 24 weeks, I only really felt it move right behind my pubic bone and a smidge above. The heart tones were always found extremely low. I never felt much any higher. I carried really low, but my uterus could be felt in the right spot above my belly button. I felt like was waddling b/c my legs wouldn't walk right- perhaps it is b/c the baby was so low? I don't know, but that makes sense.

I had some contractions, but they weren't painful, and were textbook braxton hicks- so I didn't worry about them.

I had no bleeding. There really was nothing that would have told me this was going to happen.

I thank GOD that this was caught.

Currently the baby is testing out new real estate around and above my belly button. (s)He is more active now, and I swear it kicked my stomach earlier. It is almost like feeling it move for the first time!

Everyday is a blessing, and I am going to TRY to thank God for every pain I have from here on out. I am blessed to be able to still have the pain. The still have the aches. Each jab to my kidneys tells me I am still a Mommy to be.

I am telling our story b/c I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in support. I want the information to be out there so people know what can happen. I have always been open with my health history, as long as it didn't make others feel uncomfortable. I don't think silence is the answer, but rather respect. This being said, that is why you haven't really seen me talk about this on Facebook. Please respect that fact also- I don't think Facebook is the place to be sharing total intimate details. You can ask how I am doing, etc...and I may mention it on there in the future- but just not right now.

I have many friends dealing with infertility and loss right now, and I don't want to bombard their news feed with my story. I can't control what others put on facebook, but I CAN control what I put on mine.

"WHY are you putting it on a public blog?" you might ask? Well, b/c I want to document my story. I want my family and loved ones to know. I also don't want to have to tell the story 500 times. I am aware that this is public, but it isn't freaking Facebook.

I hope you respect that even if you don't understand it.

Any questions, email me. Seriously- I am not doing anything...but the pain pills do make me groggy.

LOVE TO ALL

Bolts Will Kill Us

Bolts will kill us.

Current mood:annoyed

Okay, so we met with Gretchen...my B'ham Bitch- who I made me really homesick, and I miss everyone SOO MUCH...and we were on our way home and we hear through the open window (b/c the jeep's A/C is on the fritz again) THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP. We are trying to figure out what the heck it is. I mean- it sounded like a flat tire- but the jeep was handling fine. It was really really weird.

So, we pull over at the next stop...THANK GOD FOR WAL- MART. There really is one on every corner. ha ha ha.

We get out and look...left rear tire- a huge ass (OBESE, GRETCHEN, OBESE) bolt is sticking out of this tire. NO KIDDING. okay- for those of your who know. We have had several close calls with bolts. The week of our wedding lance got stranded in Pensacola while the rest of EVERYONE ELSE was in Perdido Key b/c he got A BOLT in the left rear tire. Totally unrelated- b/c they took it and patched it. To bad it isn't a screw huh? No, we don't even get a good screw huge ass screw- we get bolted.

THEN summer of `06 Lance and I were driving up I-65 at around 75 MPH and a GARGANTUAN bolt flipped up off the tire of the car in front of us and hit our windshield. It was a spectacular site- and damn near killed us. Thank GOD Lance didn't jerk the wheel or the bold come all the way through the windshield and hit either of us. The Windshield had a shatter/hole in it..and the we found the bolt on the freakin' hood of all places the next day- it fell down in the crack and got lodged. God wanted us to see it. I think He has a theme for us. A message.

One of us is going out by Lightning.

Anyways- Tonight we got the tire changed with no problems and got home with out incident. I only realized that

1. Jeep tire jacks SUCK. I have had to change the tire in my Accord 3 times and my jack is so much easier and quicker to use. I had to crawl under the jeep to hold the cheap jack while he twisted it up. My butt was all sticking up in the air....NIIIIIICCCEEEE.

2. Wal-Marts on every Corner are nice. I will never complain again. Much better than the side of the road, accidentally in a fire ant bed...or in a GHETTO gas station like what happened to me one time. We had a total of 1 person ask if we needed help. That was nice of them. I know one time I had to change my tire I had one guy stand and pump his gas watching me the ENTIRE TIME- then when I was lowering the jack down, he DROVE OVER to ask if I needed anything. JERK. DON"T EVEN get me started about when christi and I had a flat in the middle of nowhere on the way back for CA. ugh.

3. (lesson I learned...) I will respect the bolt.

4. I am proud of my husband for changing the tire- AAA wasn't even called.

Check out my pic for a pic of lance changing the tire. Totally a camera phone moment...but it is cute.

Love to all.

Trip With a Hitch

Planes, Trains and Automobiles.

Current mood:tired

Well, the trip to San Fran went off WITH a hitch.....for Lance anyways. I made it out there after a 3 hour delay at Pensacola airport...after getting dropped of 1.5 hours early by Lance on his way to work. UGH. It's alright...have book, will travel.

Lance on the other had a horrible trip out there. He left after work- and his flight out of pensacola was delayed..he got to Dallas, and they couldn't land b/c of the Tropical Storm. They circled and circled and circled....until the pilot came over the loud speaker and said ...."don't they know we are about to run out of gas????" SO, they had to go to Texarkana to land and get more gas......and wait out the storm...for about an hour.....in the plane, on the tarmac.....they couldn't get out of the plane b/c there wasn't any TSA agents in the airport. The whole airport was shutdown. MISERABLE. Needles to say Lance didn't make his connection in Dallas to San Francisco that night....so Thursday night I was on my own (I got there at 5pm).

They were finally about to fly into Dallas, and land. They were able to get their luggage- and poor Lance had no extra clothes. He was going to have to rough it in the airport....WAIT! The gracious people at American Airlines(AA) paid for 50% of a room at motel 6...they just had to wait for a bus to take them there......um the bus never came.......so a group including lance took a cab to the hotel... uses his last bit of cash to his name to pay his part..then he checks into the hotel and realizes the freaking starving. BECAUSE- on the airplane he didn't even get a bag of peanuts b/c AA makes you pay for EVERYTHING.

So at 1230am, he leaves his motel to walk a half a mile to WHAT-A-BURGER...and as he is walking down the street the automatic sprinklers come on and he gets hit. Talk about hitting a man when he is down. He gets his burger (1st one ever, and loved it), and realizes he has 3 hours to sleep. As he has to get up and be on an airplane bound for Orange County in the AM.

He flew to Orange County, CA....and while he was there- the start saying Code 5 Code 5. No boarding or deplaning. Airport Shutdown." Appearantly there was a BOMB or something at the security check point. Lance had NO room for delay his plane had to get to San fran on time . He only had 2 hours to after they plane laned to get his bags, get to the hotel shower and get to the conference.....

THANK GOD the OC people were right on top of it b/c it was handled pretty quick and Lance's flight wasn't delayed too long. It was close though, I picked him up (after getting a little lost in San Fran, but that is to be expected. Driving in that City SUCKS.)

The rest of the trip was AWESOME- just to short. I wasn't brave enough to drive around by myself, so I just walked. Went to china town, just walked and walked, sat and watched people. It was fun. Lance and I went up to the top of the hill on the other side of the golden gate bride- some sort of fort or something. Christi and I missed it last time- we didn't go up that high. I took Lance down to the Warf also. He liked SF, but he said it was TOO COLD!. He is just a beach bum!

The trip home was pretty much uneventful- unless you count my UTI. HA HA HA. That 5 hour flight was brutal. I have be battling that all week- I havn't been this sick in a while.

Other than that life is good in the King household-settling in. Married almost 3 months, and NO I AM NOT PREGNANT. ha ha ha ha. If you guys only knew. hee hee hee. Someone at work heard I was going to the OB/Gyn (my yearly) and then I was really sick (the UTI) and the put 2 and 2 together (and got 16) and decided I was pregnant. SIGH. quite comical.

Lance is enjoying his work. He takes his oral boards soon, and is studying really hard- so I get to be quiet a lot. That is really really hard. I always seem to want to be LOUD when I need to be quiet.

Hope all is well with you all!

The Latest

The Latest

Current mood:aggravated

okay, so here is the deal..I flew to AZ tuesday night (halloween night), and got in at 12 midnight, got a taxi to the office, and to my car and by about 0045 I was in the car and realizing something wasn't right. The D4 light was blinking, the check engine was blinking and I was accelerating after the stoplight at about 0 to 30 in 4 minutes. It was bad. I pulled into the gas station. Got out and checked my oil and trannie fluid levels (all was well), got back in and cranked it and the lights were not flashing, but the check engine light was on. My car was acclerating normally. So I pulled in to the first hotel I got to (a very nice hampton inn btw), and checked int for the night as I wasn't going to drive 90 miles and up and down steep 8% declines with no cell phone reception for 30 minutes.......so, I had gotten a HUGE vente latte with two extra shots of espresso at the airport before i knew I was going to be staying in phoenix...and I had already consumed it..so I didn't fall asleep until 5 am or so. Then I had to be up at 730 to take my car to the dealer. I was thinking I had an extended warrenty to 150,000 miles on the trannie....So I got to the dealership who told me about 45 minutes and they would have my answer...so at 1030 he had my answer....Answer is........I am at 114,000 miles, and my warranty ended at 100,000. So right after the service manager told me that the estimate for a new traniewas 3500...I kinda started tearing up and getting pale and ashen faced...he got called away on another phone call, and while he was on the phone I got a call from the company I want to hire for the wedding --> -->and I was a little overwhelmed......the service guy was coming back towards me, and I was crying and telling the wedding people that I wanted to book them, but it would be a few weeks before I had the deposit b/c of my trannie- but I wanted to save the date, and would it be okay, how much was the deposit, etc. etc....so the service guy heard me saying all that and when I got off the phone he was patting my back saying "oh dear, you are planning a wedding also." ha ha ha ha ha. He said that he would try and see what he would be able to do with the Honda warranty people to help me out. he told me to wait another 15 minutes or so and he would get back with me. Well at 1145am I couldn..'t wait any longer b/c i had to sleep- I had to be at work at 7pm. SO, I had to get all my stuff- dirty clothes todrop off at the cleaners, my toletries, etc. outta my car- use the courtesy shuttle to the office I had to go and get to the office (the travel nurse company that I work for) so I could get my crappy rental from them (they are paying for it b/c they feel really sorry for me. ;)) get to Globe an sleep before I had to work....so. I get the rental, and 15 minutes into the drive out here I realize the speedometer, and odometer don..'t work...then I realize the check engine light is on...and the transmisson slips from 3rd to 2nd. HA HA..ha ha ha ha ha. go figure. oh well. I really don..'t care. I am going to take it back on Saturday SO back to my story. I get to globe around 230pm on Wednesday, and really don..'t get any sleep. I was worried about the 3500 for the trannie. My wedding, my friends wedding in april in puerto rico we ahve to pay for.....etc. etc. etc..... I was so tired by the time I got to work at 7pm. then I worked to 7am. I slept for about an hour around 5am when we didn..'t have any patients...but that was it. ha ha. I was freaking delirious. It was funny. oh, and I had got up at 6am TUESDAY to take lance to work....so byy the time I got off on thursday morning I had only had roughly 4 hours sleep since tuesday morning at 6am....AND 12 hours work. The sad part was that I wasn..'t able to just go to sleep when I got off b/c i Had to pick up my uniforms at the laundry mat (yes, I pay someone else to do my clothes..sad huh? but it is only 12 dollars...worth it to me.), and i had to go to wal-mart and buy some tennis shoes b/c i FORGOT MINE. ha ha ha. I had to wear dress shoes to work last night b/c I forgot my tennis shoes in my car in phoenix. ha ha ha. SO, then they called me and told me that the Honda warranty people are going to honor 75% of the cost of the replacement transmission, and the 25% I am going to have to pay will be around 596.00, plus the 49.00 for the diagnostic test. They are going to do that b/c I am not much over the 100000miles, and personally I think also b/c I had small breakdown in the lobby. ha ha ha ha. AND it will be warrantied for 3 years/or 36,000 miles. it is called a refurbished, but it is just the housing(casing) that is reused- the actual transmission and working components are new. YEAH! I am so excited that it is cheaper than I thought it was going to be. SO then I passed the HELL out on thursday morning around 930 am. HA HA HA. I slept so good. It was rough though. by the time my shift was over I looked like death warmed over, felt like death cooled over, and was not making any sense even to myself. I think I hallucinated a few times too. I kept hearing whistling. ha ha ha ha. They might have been messing with me, but who knows. I was majorly sleep deprived. SO, that is what is new with me. always something huh?

insomnia

insomnia

Current mood:lethargic

so, I have fiddled with the thing called a myspace layout generator. Can anyone tell me a good one that can fix with the background I want, and colors in the text boxes that I want, and everything still work? ie slideshows etc. Maybe I am just too tired to figure out what I am sure is right in front of my face. I had a really weird dream as soon as I fell asleep this AM, and now unable to go back to sleep. I will not go into all detail ...........I have Dean Koontz type dreams lately as that is what I am reading.....some weird psychogenic, out of body experience book- very good read- but making for weird dreams.

Anyways, tonight is my last night for this stretch and I hope it is easy and I get on my plane at 1110am tomorrow without difficulty. Work this week has been interesting. I have been pissed on (seizure), puked on (105.8 temp 2 year old), spit on (drunk/meth'd out teenager), groped (old blind man who really didn't mean it...I think...), and get this....told by a patient that she was going to report us for "having to much fun". No joke, she was serious. At the time we had 3 patients...two admissions waiting for beds at outside hospitals and her....so basically it was her. She was screened (triaged, or vitals and complaint taken), 5 minutes later the doc was in there, about 5 after he got out I was giving Morphine 5mg IM and Phenergan 25mg IM, and THEN as soon as I was done someone else went into draw blood.......she told the gal drawing blood that she didn't like us laughing, and talking and we were having too much fun and she was going to report us for that, and for being unprofessional and laughing while people are sick.....HA HA HA HA HA HA. She had freakin' PID...for those in the know that is PELVIC INFLAMATORY DISEASE.......hoochie rot, tuna boat syndrome, wash yo taco disease......and she was just a pain. I mean from the time she walked in until the time she got a SHIT load of narcotics (over medicated if you ask me) was quicker than most people even get to see the first person.

I ask- so for 7 days straight, 12 hours each day- she wants me not to laugh, or cut up or BE MYSELF? Whatever. I am getting jaded in the ER again. I thought I was over this after leaving RMC in Anniston, but it is bugging me again.....and I have to get it off my chest.....for those easily offended, do not read the following. This is my blog and I can say whatever the freak I want. For those out there that might get irritated at nurses or other medical staff b/c they seem to be "taking too long" or "laughing, and not caring about me"....SHUT THE FUCK UP. You are not the only person out there, and you have no idea what is going on. The 'nurses' you are getting mad at might be lab techs or x-ray tech that are just in scrubs. The nurses are probably getting your freaking medicine or starting someone else's IV. Perhaps they are giving a baby a suppository, or crying with a 14 year old that just got raped. YOU DON"T KNOW, SO SHUT YOUR MOUTH.

If you are able to complain and whine and bitch, then you are not that FREAKING SICK. Perhaps, yes, PERHAPS the nurse IS taking a break...perhaps she is going to the bathroom or scarfing down some food. well let me tell you- LET HER. She/he is only human.

Ever since a kidney infection last year and then urologist visits, cystoscopy and urodynamic studies later, I have been having to self cath myself every week or so. I have ruined the nerves in my bladder from holding it too long for too many years, and feeling guilty over people like this- so I would just hold it and run around taking care of everyone else but myself. NO MORE. I had a blood sugar of 44 one night last week b/c I was SICK as SHIT and still working and unable to keep much in me. Guess what? I still kept right on- sicker than 90% of the people I TREATED that night. Someone had the guts to ask me that night what was taking so long and I almost started crying...now I am just pissed. Tired and pissed.

So, sorry about the raving to anyone who is still reading this. I am going to try and get at least 4 hours sleep before I have get up and do it again. I hope I can stay asleep this time.

**Disclaimer*** I am not really normally like ths. I really do care, and I do love my job. I am a good nurse- just midly burnt out. again. Tomorrow is a new day and I have seven off and a trip to beach after this...then I will be my normal smiley, bubbly self

love to all