Big Changes here for 2008!!

As you can see I'm finally back and using the computer again some. Still having some residual problems from the surgery but hope they will improve with time.
We had a fairly quiet Christmas around here. Just us-Chuck, myself and the two boys. I cooked Christmas Eve (hence some of the post-surgery problems, I think) and we snacked on Christmas Day . The boys opened gifts and Chuck had a few, but mine is a Craft Robo I've got on a layaway plan with a friend. So it will be here soon.
All the excitement started between Christmas and New Years. You see, the boys moved into an apartment together November 1 and all was fine til Tony met a girl. Of course, you can already figure this one out. She began overstepping boundaries in the apartment, and intruding deeply into Matt's life and the routines in the apt. Matt ended up getting the short end of the deal and had asked us to allow him to stay at the house for a while til things calmed down. This was Christmas Eve. So, after Christmas he returned to the apartment long enough to gather up some clothes. This was the beginning of the end!!
Tony, just back in October from Iraq, has PTSD and is receiving treatment at VA. But just the simple act of Matt leaving the apartment triggered his anger and resentment. Any other time I'd have stayed out of the situation but not this time. He became violent and I just grabbed Matt, stuck him in my car and drove away, thinking separation might cool the fuse.
NOPE!!! Got a message on the answering machine at the house-Tony-telling Matt all his belongings were on the street (in the rain) and if he wanted them, he'd better get them. Now this was at 4:30 pm on Friday before New Years. So we rushed to the U-Haul rental place, got a small truck and went to gather up Matt's things. (another reason my recovery hasn't gone well).I helped him load it all into the truck and get it back to my house, unloaded the truck, took it back and got him settled here.
So Matt's back home again!!So far, so good. Things have quieted down between him and Tony but the girl has been moved into the apartment with her best friend and Tony. I don't know what all is going on but he is 24 and old enough to behave properly.

WOW!! Surgery is over!!

Well, as you can see, I'm home from the hospital. The surgery went well. Even to the surgeon saving the old plates and screws for me-guess he knew I was a scrapbooker LOL. I now have 2 longer plates and screws holding the discs in place.He even went through the same spot as last year so the scar isn't larger than it already was. I was really sick after the anesthesia (always am) but by the next morning, Thursday, I was better. I have slept more in the past few days than in the past month.Of course, part of that is due to the Lortabs and I'll take those daily for the next few weeks-as they say there will be "discomfort for 6-8 weeks". Discomfort they call it, huh.
Oh, okay now on to the healing part. Will just have to take it easy for the next few weeks-no lifting over 5#,no straining, etc. Good thing I did most of the holiday cooking and baking ahead of time. Tony came over this am to get a few things done for us. He'll be back later to help with bathtime for Chuck and clean up the animals-cleam out both cat's litterboxes, and redo Pookies's cage with new bedding and food too.

My First Blog

Well, here it is. My first attempt at having a blog.I hope to make this interesting enough for you to like visiting and reading about my life.

So here's what is happening. Tonight as I write this, I'm very nervous. Tomorrow morning, about 11 am, I'm scheduled for surgery-another cervical fusion. See I just had C5-6 done last November. And this one should really be a piece of cake-right? Well, it seems like it's not. Thsi time it's C6-7, the one right below the last one, but this time it's herniated and pressing against the spinal cord causing some paralysis in the left hand. And the funny thing is, we-the drs and myself, can't figure out whats going on. This time last year, C6-7 was just fine.So what happened?? Who really knows, but you can be sure I'm finding out that, as a woman who tends to always put everyone else ahead of myself, that I actually need to develop time for myself each and everyday. So what if my family thinks they just can't do it?? Well, they are going to have to learn to make decisions for themselves and work things out. It can be done but they have always known that Mom would do it if they didn't. And I have always done it.