She Scared Us!

Beth fell down the stairs last night.

Her apartment is in our day light basement and she had come up to get dinner. She was taking her plate back downstairs when I heard a loud grunt. Then I heard her fall, the plate flying against the wall, her thumping down the stairs... oh my gosh my heart is beating faster even now, just remembering that sound!!

By the time I got to the stairs, she was sort of sitting on the landing and both feet were up on the bottom stair, she was holding her head and sobbing.

Chuck and I flew down the stairs asking if she was okay and she just cried. She did managed to say, "I hurt my head!" The whole time I'm whispering, "Jesus! Jesus!" I was SO scared! I asked her if she hurt anywhere and she shook her head no. I slowly moved her legs down off the bottom stair so her whole body was on the landing. She was shaking and crying like I've never seen before!

I checked her arms and legs and she seemed okay so I had her stand up and we took her into her room and had her sit in her chair. Still holding her head, still crying, I wrapped my arms around her and began to pray.

She cried and cried.

I asked her to move her feet, her hands, her neck. Everything worked fine and she said nothing hurt, except the one spot on her head where she hit the wall. After she began to calm down I asked her if she had fallen part way down the stairs, or all the way... she said she couldn't remember. I asked her if she fell down on her front or if she did a summersault but she couldn't remember.

Chuck cleaned up her dinner (thank goodness the plate was Corell and didn't break!) and I went up to get her more pancakes. When I came back down, she was still crying and upset. I could tell this really scared her. She usually bounces right back from stuff like this and can often be heard yelling, "I'm okay!!" if she bumps her arm or hits her leg on something. Last night she cried for a long time.

I sent my sister a text (she's a nurse) and asked her if there was anything I should watch for as far as a head injury. Her pupils were normal, so she suggested I wake her once or twice during the night and if she didn't wake up easily, then we should take her to the ER. I did that, but she always woke up normally. In fact, one time she got angry at me, rolled over and pulled the covers up over her head!

Thursdays she usually takes a shower while I'm at work but today I told her she needed to wait until I got home. She took it while I was home for lunch and did fine. There isn't even a bump on her head tonight. That was so scary! I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of her falling.

Tonight when she came up to get dinner, she held the handrail on the way back down.

Why I Haven't Written

We've been on vacation. Went to San Diego for a big family reunion, then spent a few days visiting friends and family.

Had a Lake Day; my sister lives at a lake, cleaning cabins in exchange for rent so we got to go on paddle boats, play in the splash park and just enjoy the view.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent some time at La Jolla Shores; took the girls to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor; went to Downtown Disney; (couldn't afford Disneyland so this gave us everything Disney without the price!) had dinner at the Rainforest Café... a full week of fun and relaxation! We're back home now, back to laundry and dishes and our own beds. :) 

 

 

My dad with 10 of his 11 great-grandkids

(Allison is the one with the floaties)

 

 

 

 

 

Outside the Lego Store in Downtown Disney

 

 

 

 

 

"Stack of Boxes"

Beth sent me this text last week: I DID IT FIVE STACK OF BOXES MOTHERA

Me: Beth you are amazing!

Beth: YES I AM

This girl works at Little Caesars and she works hard! She folds pizza boxes, 3 hours a night, two nights a week.

The boxes come flat, wrapped in plastic in groups of 50. She moves each group from one counter to another, unwraps them, folds them and puts a sticker on each box. The stacks get so high, she needs help placing them on the top.

That's 250 boxes. In 3 hours. She's a pizza box ninja!!

 

 

A Letter From the Doctor

Beth got a letter from the doctor today. The results of her lab work are: she needs more medicine. The doctor is raising her dosage from 62mg a day to 75. She said it may be the cause of her weight gain.

All the levels look good, her HGB A1C, Free T4, Glucose, everything is within the normal range except her TSH. That is very high. So, we'll up the dosage and see what happens.

One thing Beth liked about this new doctor is the examining room. Usually you have to sit up on the small bed type thing and it terrifies Beth. She has become SO afraid of heights the last few years. It's so bad that we had to put her mattress and box springs on the floor. She just refused to sleep in her bed because 'it was too high.'

So when we went into this new room, she got a big smile on her face! The nurse motioned for her to 'have a seat' and she loved it! She was completely relaxed and I think that helped her when she was talking with the nurse.

One Tired Girl

Beth walked in a parade yesterday with her friends from All Aboard. She's done this now for 4 years and looks forward to it every year.

Unfortunately Sharaya and Diana were in a different parade and we weren't able to see them. :( They both work for a car dealership and Sharaya got to drive a vw bug convertible! They said they saw a lot of familiar faces lining the street and it seemed kinda weird to be driving slow waving at all their friends.

Her first time in a convertible!

 

Chuck and I dropped Beth off at 9:00, then went to get our seats along the parade route. The parade started at noon and we didn't have to wait long until All Aboard came around the corner. (They actually walked about 1/2 mile TO the parade, walked the parade route, then 1/2 mile back to the meeting room.)

 

 

 

They were all so excited, waving at the crowds and smiling! You could tell they absolutely LOVED being there! We were looking for Beth and looking for her...

 

 

 

Then we spotted her. I'm so glad she was on our side of the street!

 

 

 

We picked her up after the parade and went out to lunch. Drove to a park and hung out before having to take her to work. Turns out they were closing early and she wasn't even on the schedule to work that night! Oh well. Came home and watched fireworks on TV this year. We really had a great day!

 

One tired girl!

 

Monday... with a Twist

Beth has hypothyroidism. Her doctor had a difficult time regulating her meds so last year she had a radio-iodine treatment to kill her thyroid. She'll be on meds for the rest of her life, but I think it was worth it. She hasn't had any symptoms since the treatment.

The last time she saw her doctor he told us that everything looked good and he wouldn't need to see her for 6 months. During those 6 months, the Affordable Care Act was signed into law and her doctor no longer accepted her medical insurance. Oh joy.

I've spent the last couple of months looking for a new doctor, contacting her old doctor, getting the referral, answering a lot of questions and filling out a 6 page Patient Medical History form. I had to do it over the course of a few days cause I just didn't have time to do it all in one sitting! I thought her former doctor would have faxed all that info over but, oh well. It's done now and she had her first appointment on Monday.

A new complex, new doctor, new procedures... and I forgot my phone so no pictures. :(

The doctor was very friendly (a female this time, last doctor was male) and spoke directly with Beth, only looking at me if Beth didn't answer. I think we're really gonna like her.

After the appointment, we went to the lab so she could have some blood drawn and while we're sitting in the waiting room, she tells me I can wait for her. "You don't want me to come in?"

She points to the crux of her elbow and says, "You don't like this." I agreed that I don't like to watch people getting shots, but I usually just look the other way.

"You can wait here."

Well!! So when the nurse called her name, she handed me her purse and went in without me! Remember, this is a new office with people she's never met before.

I can hear her tell the technician, "My mom not like these."

She laughed and told her that she understood, some people can't watch. I sat in the waiting room listening to my painfully shy daughter speak with a complete stranger, laugh with her and have a perfectly normal conversation.

It was the best blood draw I've never been to!!