Free On The Weekend!

Holy shit, I'm not in the hospital! Everything was fine today, my fluid was higher than it's been in at least a week (7.7,) and he scored an 8/8 in 7 minutes. Yes, we both rule. Blood work and another ultrasound Monday, and maybe another amnio as well.

I finally bought plates for the red RS, and put liability insurance on it as well. Tomorrow it gets new tires, and Sunday it's getting a bath.

Yes, I've changed the background music again. Shut it.

That is all.

Word

Well now, wasn't today eventful? The ultrasound revealed the alien to be 5 pounds 4 ounces. Yes, over 5 pounds. Woo! He's growing as any good alien should, and I won't be surprised if he's over 6 pounds by the time he departs the mothership.

I completely ran all up on a curb today. And there were witnesses. TruckBird seems to be OK, though.

It's 60 degrees. You know I drove around with the t-tops out, and will probably wind up getting pneumonia or something.

LG1 and mecha sent me flowers. Aren't the purty? Thanks you two!

I'm such a horribly evil person; I had Swenson's today.

Nap time.

That is all.

Home Again

I managed to get my happy ass released on a Sunday. Dr. Gill came in around 11:30AM and told me the liver screenings are good, and he was letting me go home today. I have to keep my three day a week specialist at the hospital schedule, along with once weekly Dr. Jag visits. So tomorrow I will have another biophysical ultrasound, drop off my 24 hour urine and have a consult with the specialists. Hopefully they forget about a blood draw, but I doubt it.
Wednesday we'll find out how much he's grown in 3 weeks.

I am going to bed; have to get up at 7:30AM to be at the hospital by 9AM.

That is all.

Hospital Part Deux

Yeah, I'm in the hospital again. I was readmitted Wednesday the 22nd because my liver enzymes were screwed up again. The baby is fine, however.
Obviously I'm not happy about being in here again. Especially since I was admitted Wednesday, and by Friday the enzymes were almost normal again. Instead of letting me go home Friday, the specialists chose to keep me here all weekend for "observation." I'm in the hospital, nothing's wrong with me and I'm not hooked up to anything. The IV was hep-locked today, I'm only on the baby monitor one hour out of every four and all of my blood/urine tests are perfect. The baby is perfect, and his fluid is good as well. Yet, again, here I am in the hospital getting blood thinner injections because I was stuck in bed by the IV. I finally got out of bed and waddled to the nursery this evening, but that was the first "trip" I've taken since my arrival. I came in for a regular checkup, and didn't get to leave.
Allegedly, if the fluid stays good and the enzymes remain stable, I'll go home Monday. But then they said I could go home Friday if those criteria were met, and I am still here. I need to beat someone.

I'll be 9 months (36 weeks) pregnant on Monday. It's freaking scary. I had another amnio Wednesday, and I wound up having contractions the whole time. OK, that sucked and they weren't even real contractions/labor. Sooooooo glad I'm having a C-Section.
The results of the amnio were better (32 this time,) but still not the 55 we need for delivery. Wednesday is the next milestone; the size ultrasound. If he hasn't grown sufficiently, they'll deliver him Wednesday or Thursday. If he is growing, he'll remain inside to fester a couple more weeks (April 11 is our hopeful date.)

Gah, I have to pee.

That is all.

Sneeze

I've been sneezing all day. I better not be getting sick.

If my fluid drops into the 4's, Dr. Jag is delivering the alien immediately. That'll help my stress levels for all of my specialist visits.
Speaking of the specialist, I need to leave my house by 6AM tomorrow. I have to visit the lab prior to my ultrasound (7:30AM,) and hopefully my liver isn't jacked up again.

I should go to bed.

That is all.

Poooooooooop

Gah, I'm on the hospital schedule. This means I wake up every 3 hours, and am hungry at 7:30AM. I've all ready scheduled my specialist appointment for today, had a tasty breakfast and will schedule my appointment with Dr. Jag for tomorrow. Monday, Wednesday, Friday at the specialist is only for this week; beginning next week it's only two times a week.

I so need to clean the living room. I also need to find my discharge paper so Morgan can take it to work (he took Friday off to bring me home and "tend to me.") How I lost the damned thing between last night and this morning is beyond me, but it's gone.

The first day of Spring is sometime this week, yet we're not supposed to break into the 50's. We'll be lucky to hit 40. I hate Ohio.

Was I just talking about the weather again?

That is all.

Home Sweet Home

I'm home. I was released Friday, around 11:30AM. Almost 8 days exactly (I was admitted at noon) and I was beat. I had to get a prescription filled (Amoxicillin) so where's the first place I go upon release? Target, of course. LOL I went to the junkyard yesterday, made one lap and sat down the rest of the time. Today I took a brief jaunt to the grocery store. I do not want to wind up back in the hospital, so I have yet to clean the apartment, other than a quickie bathroom clean and a simple kitchen wipe-down. No vacuuming or anything crazy like that, and I certainly haven't tackled the laundry.

Being confined to the hospital works great as a diet. I went in there and couldn't even get close to fastening a pair of jeans I bought around a month ago. Now they fit fine. It's strange, though, since I ate a bunch while I was in the hospital but didn't do shit. Oh well, at least something good came out of being in there. LOL

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday I'm going to be nervous. I have to go into the specialists' office for checkups on those days, and I'm terrified they're going to decide to admit me again (the specialists' office is in the hospital.) So, if I disappear for a couple days, I'm back in the hosptial and waiting on a laptop.

Yeah, that'll do wonders for my blood pressure.

OK, Morgan's cooking. I need to supervise to make sure the kitchen isn't burned down.

That is all.

Last Hospital Update?

Someone is trying to keep me in the hospital. I'm scheduled to be released tomorrow morning, woo me. Well, my last blood sugar test read at 200. Twofuckinghundred! With blood sugar like that, they're not going to let me go home. When I order my meals, I purposely choose lower carb items since all I'm doing is laying in bed and walking to/from the potty. I don't need a ton of carbs; I'm not doing anything. Well, the dietary staff has taken it upon themselves to put extra food on my tray, and it's always something full of carbs. I'm supposed to be on a 2,000 calorie diabetic no salt added diet. They totally cracked me out on carbs for dinner, and now I may be stuck here because of it. Fuckers.

I do have gallstones, but it's an inconsequential issue right now. They're not causing any problems, my gallbladder isn't inflamed and there are no indicators of any past problems. I'll have my gallbladder removed this summer, but there's no point in doing it right now. Heh, other than that, I'M COMPLETELY HEALTHY. Thankfully the doctors haven't said that to me in at least 24 hours; I swear, they have the phones tapped.

I will return to the hospital 3 days a week, and to Dr. Jag's office on Tuesdays. All of the doctors are now giving me until April 11, but we know how that is. They also swore I was going to develop preeclampsia and I never did. I know it's not an exact science and besides, we don't know what caused my liver to get cracked out and probably never will. I do have excellent doctors, though, and I'm confident they know what's going on.

The people across the hall need fucking punched. They are sooooooooo loud and inconsiderate, and we all know how much I love loud and inconsiderate people. Shut the fucking door at least, and stop yelling. We don't care you bounced a check; learn how to budget! I should be a total bitch and complain, because it's after 8PM. Visiting hours, except for the support person (ie: Dad) ends at 8PM. Heh, I think I will complain just to be an asshat.

I hate my IV. Of course it's the last thing they'll take out, probably leaving it in until I'm actually at the car. LOL I wish they'd take it out tonight, but I know they can't just in case something was to happen and I needed immediate sedation or meds.

It better be warm this weekend; I missed the 70 degree weather earlier this week.

That is all.

Another Hospital Update

Heh, yes I'm still in here. I may get to go home Friday if the baby's fluid levels stay up, otherwise I'm here until he's born. Today's levels were 8.1 which is normal, and the highest they've been since I was admitted. If I do get to go home I have to stay on the couch or in bed, except for Monday, Wednesday and Friday when I return to the hospital for labwork and an ultrasound. I don't care how much I have to sit on the couch or stay in bed, at least I'll be home. I won't get too excited, though, because my doctors always have something up their sleeves.

Speaking of doctors, if one more of them tells me how freaking healthy I am, someone's getting kicked in the taint. If I'm so freaking healthy why am I still here? I know it's because of his fluid levels, but why not send me home with instructions to drink a certain amount of liquid every hour? The doctors have seen I comply with every instruction they give me, so what's the deal with keeping me in here and hooked up to an IV (it's for fluids only) when I could do the same thing at home without the needle in my arm?
On a better note, every blood screen and test they've run has been negative. I don't have mono, hepatitis or anything else they could think to check for. My liver is returning to normal, which is nice. Earlier in the week the doctors were worried about permanent liver damage, but it doesn't seem to be a worry anymore. "Lisa, you are perfectly healthy and the baby is healthy too." Gah, someone needs smacked.

I actually got to sleep last night with a minimum amount of interruptions. Every time the baby pops off the monitor, a nurse has to come in and reposition the monitor. The two nights previous he wouldn't stay on the monitor for shit. Last night I woke up to pee, and that was it. I'd get up, pee, hook myself back up to the monior and go back to sleep. It isn't like I'm getting a ton of sleep at once, though, since I have to pee every 2 hours at the most, more like every hour.

I'm beginning to ramble, so I'm going to take a nap until it's time for my blood thinner and sugar test at 10AM.

Gah, Must.Go.Home.

That is all.

Still In The Hospital

Gah, I'm still in the hospital. I really have no idea when the baby's going to be born, but there are certain circumstances which will guarantee a same-day (but not emergency) delivery:
-If his fluid levels drop
-If my blood pressure goes too high
-If my labwork comes back silly again, especially my liver
-If a 24 hour urine screen shows a large amount of protein in my urine
-If I experience a severe headache or vision disturbances, which are indicators of worsening preeclampsia.
The specialist who has taken care of us the whole weekend, Dr. McDaniel, swears I'm going to develop severe preeclampsia, so he wants to keep me here until I have the baby. It's OK with me, and I know it's the best idea for both of us right now, but I'm so bored I can't handle myself. And I've only been here since Thursday at 11AM! The food's not too bad, though, and since I'm off the magnesium I can drink whenever I want to and get up to pee with relative ease. I'm still hooked up to the IV for fluids, and the baby monitor (of course.) I can shower, though, which will rock, and I have the laptop with Internet and Morgan brought the DVD's from home. And, of course, I have the goldfish for company, and a singing bear my Mom bought me.

Heh, I had an amniocentesis today. There are certain proteins in the amniotic fluid which can determine approximate lung development. If the level is over 55, the baby should do very well being delivered at that time. There's also one other item they check for, which is a positive, negative or neutral result. Positive is the best of those three. So if the result is over 55 and positive, delivery would be fine. Heh, our result was 12, positive. Grrrrrrrrrrr. So he gets to remain where he is to fester for a bit longer. The doctors both said even if he has to be born this week he'll be OK, but he'll probably be on a respirator and have to spend more time in the NICU than if we can keep him inside another week. Yes, another week. I could wind up spending almost a month in here if the baby decides that's what he wants to do. I receive the results of my labwork every morning around 9AM, and the ultrasounds are performed around 8AM during the week, around 10:30AM on the weekends. Those are the two things (lab results and ultrasound fluid level) which determine if he stays put, or if he makes his debut.

Now, just because I'm that bored, here's a list of shit they're giving me/have given to me while I've been here:
Thursday I arrived and they started the magnesium sulfate to prevent seizures, and started the IV fluids as well. Then I received the first of two steroid injections to help develop his lungs. Saturday I stopped the magnesium, and began blood thinners since I'm sitting around doing nothing. I'm still tethered to the IV for fluids, and I have also received 4 shots of insulin because the steroids made my blood sugar go crazy for a couple days. Currently I'm on antibiotics to prevent a bladder infection, the blood thinner injection every 12 hours (10A and 10P) and my prenatal vitamin. I get stuck once a day for labwork, usually around 6AM, and I have a daily pimp ultrasound as well. The poking has greatly decreased since I got off the magnesium, for which I'm eternally grateful. My right hand is so tore up right now; I look like a long-term IV drug user. Oh, and we can't forget about the delightful 24 hour urine screenings. I've completed two since I arrived, and have to begin my third in the morning. I won't know how to act when I can pee without either collecting every drop, or measuring my "output."

Speaking of peeing, I think I need to do just that, for the billionth time today. And, for everyone keeping track at home, I have the "comfort" capacity of 400 CC's in my bladder, which I guess is pretty good. I rule, and so does my bladder.

Additionally, I am completely healthy and disease free, which is nice to know. In addition to being checked for every STD and blood panel thing know to man, I was checked for all the hepatitis family, and all are negative. Yay me.

That is all.

Hospital Update

Yes, I'm still in the hospital and will be here for a while. I can blog via Blogger, but that's about it. I can access eBay, but not PayPal. No MySpace or AOL IM either because I have to use their laptops, and the Internet is way restricted. But still, better than no Internet...

OK, here's the story. The specialist said if I'm asked about my condition I am to say I'm severely preeclamptic. In a nutshell, I had a bunch of screenings run on my liver function and every time they do a screen, the levels come back worse and worse. This is a part of preeclampsia I guess. The specialist said I should "present myself" in a day or two either by my blood pressure going sky high or the baby's fluid drying up. My regular ob/gyn whom is still running the show said she's going to deliver him tomorrow via C-Section. As she said, the baby is 34 weeks. While he's only 4 pounds right now, he's healthy and everything is developed as it should be. Right now I'm healthy except for the liver function, which will fix itself as soon as he's born. Why not deliver him while both of us are healthy, so we both remain that way? So yeah, word round the campfire is he'll be born tomorrow, probably around 1 or 2 in the afternoon. C-Section with a spinal and tubal for me, woohoo!

As far as I'm doing, it's all right. I have an IV and I'm receiving fluids plus magnesium so I don't have seizures (eclampsia causes seizures.) The magnesium makes my face red, makes me feel hot and generally blahish. I've received two shots of a steroid so the baby's lungs will develop more quickly, and I begin blood thinners at ten tonight. I need blood thinners because the magnesium can make me wobbly and the specialist doesn't want me on my feet other than to pee. That's not enough movement to prevent blood clots, and even though I have the cool TED hose, I still need the blood thinner. Not a big deal. I've received two shots of insulin today because the steroid makes my glucose shoot up insanely high, and I'm on a restricted fluid diet because the magnesium can cause me to collect fluid around my heart or in my lungs. The good thing is, once I'm taken off the magnesium it's out of my system within 10 minutes and I'll be able to drink whenever I'm thirsty. Woo! All in all I could be muuuuuuuch worse, I'm not going to go into labor and I'm getting my C-Section.

The magnesium is starting to make me feel woozy, so I should take a nap. I'll blog more later; this laptop is mine until I go home.

That is all.

Away~Hospital

Got a phone call this morning from Dr. Gill, the specialist. His nurse said, and I quote, "your labs are all wacky." I guess my liver is screwed up and they're admitting me as soon as I get my happy ass to the hospital. So there we have it. Obviously I won't update this thing until I get home, whenever that may be.

Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

That is all.

Yes, I'm A Spazz

OK, so I changed my layout again. I was bored with the previous layout, and I think the boredom had a lot to do with my not posting here.

Everything is going to shit as far as the baby is concerned. He's actually small for his age, 4 pounds at 33 weeks 3 days, and 3 weeks behind with his waist development. All of his organs and stuff are developing fine, which is great, but he's still not as rosy-great as I originally thought. Obviously I had a visit with the specialist today. Until the baby's born my schedule is packed with all kinds of fun. Monday and Thursday I visit the specialist at the hospital for an ultrasound and office visit. Wednesday I visit Dr. Jagadeesan. In addition to all of this fun, I'm on more restrictions. I'm now on "house rest" which is the same as house arrest. I'm not allowed to do anything other than sit on the couch. No cooking, cleaning or laundrying and I'm supposed to stop going to school as well. I'm a quarter of a step away from full bed rest, and a half step away from being hospitalized until the alien is born. If he's not markedly larger in 3 weeks, he'll be delivered then. Either way he's going to spend some time in the NICU, but I'm not supposed to worry. Yeah, sure.

I'm going to try sleeping which will be impossible since Morgan snores and hogs the bed. He's an asshole.

That is all.

Sugar Free Kool Aid

Hee, Morgan hates sugar free Kool Aid. He calls it "death Kool Aid" and whines every time I make some. Well, it has to be sugar free until after April 8. Besides, I really don't think it's that bad. It's sweet enough, but does have a small aftertaste. I've tried the grape and cherry; both are pretty OK.

Morgan changed the water pump on the red RS; he's so damned proud of himself.

I did absolute shit this weekend, and it was so nice. I took my prescribed naps yesterday and today, and bummed around the rest of the time. We were going to the "proformance" swap meet today, but Morgan didn't get out of bed until 7PM, so that idea was shot to shit.

Eh, guess I should go to bed since it's 20 til 3 in the morning.

That is all.

Alien's Debut

As long as my blood pressure cooperates and doesn't get any worse, the alien will be born Saturday, April 8th via C-Section. 3 weeks early, but the doctor is sure he'll be fine. Woooooo, only a little over a month!!!

The last two weeks' ultrasounds:
February 21
February 28

My follow up today yielded exciting results (duh.) Along with the projected birth date, I was told of my restrictions. I am to take a nap every afternoon, I am not to travel more than 15 miles one way, no lifting at all and I have to visit the Immediate Care center for daily blood pressure checks. Additionally, I've lost 6 pounds in two weeks! Apparently the diabetic diet kicks ass, and I haven't been hungry. Actually I eat way more than I did before, which is pretty cool. It's apples and stuff, but still tasty.

Yet another photo of the living room, this time with our new throw pillows:
Couch w/New Pillows
This will be the last photo until my new lamps arrive (the lamps I wanted from Ikea, but couldn't buy at the Pitt store.)

Our American Constitutional Law final is tomorrow, and I'm sure I'll do a great job (sarcasm off.) Honestly, as long as I pass the class I don't care what grade I receive. Next month is Intro to Lit, off-site, with our favorite instructor. Should be a good time for all.

Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.

That is all.

RIP

Dennis Weaver

That is all.