Home Again

Hiya! It's Sam again.

Dad suggested I drop a quick note to let everyone know I'm back home as of Thursday evening. Mom or I'll post a more detailed entry later, but Dad thought y'all would appreciate knowing.

Happy Easter, everyone!

From Methodist LeBohneur

Hey, all, its Sam again!

First off, I'm going to write out the entire story of the past few days, partly because I'm not sure who got how much of the story and all that good stuff. So, here it is:

Two weekends ago (the same weekend we got Chee), late on Sunday night I started to get ao really bad muscle spasm in my shoulder. Because I'd had trouble with spasms before, we figured it would go away in a few days. That didn't happen, though. We went to my primary care physician after a little over a week, and he perscribed Tylenol 3 and sent me back home with instructions to take hot baths and have Mom massage the knots. After a few more days, the spasm got worse, and we went to go see one of my Rheumetologists, Dr. Hannissian (or, as Mom calls him, Dr. House). He perscribed a small dose of steroids for three to five days. That didn't work, either. Thursday afternoon, around four o'clock, we were checked into an exam room in the ER at Methodist Lebohneur, which is just a few minutes from home. After several IV medications, and two perscriptions (one for a stronger steroid pack, another for Percocet), we were sent back home at a little after eleven.

On Friday evening, Mom, Dad, and Chris went out to the grocery store. I stayed home, because I was exhausted and didn't feel like going out. Later into the night, I started having some pain in my chest. Thinking it was just pleurisy, I ignored it for a while and continued to play with Chee. After about twenty minutes, though, the pain continued to worsen, and it hurt to breathe. Dizzy and scared, I called my parents and asked them to come home immediately. I explained to them what was going on, and they asked if I could get to the front door to unlock it. At the time, I was confused, but I did as I was told. I put Chee back in his crate, unlocked the door, and followed the instructions to lay back down on the sofa. All the while, I was crying and completely freaking out. Mom kept asking if they needed to call 911, but I refused. All I wanted was my mommy and daddy.

Immediately upon their arrival, Mom and Dad came in and helped me walk to the car while Chris got Boo Bear (the teddy bear I've had since I was six months old). Dad rushed to the hospital, and Chris ran in right away, before the car even stopped completely, and asked for help. Durring that time, Mom and Dad were helping me into the waiting room, where they sat me in a wheelchair and checked us in. Shortly after that, we were taken into Triage, where they checked my vitals and got important information. Then, we waited. A bit later, we were called back into the examination room, where they gave me a GI cocktail (EWW!!!). When that didn't work, the doctor ordered an IV and some medicine that I can't remember the name of, because I was so loopy on it. When that started to settle it out, we were admitted to the LeBonheur Peds unit on the second floor.

Basically, since we got up here, Mom has stayed over nights, only leaving for a couple of hours to get showered and all that. Dad and Chris have been staying durring the day. And twice, Chee got snuck in (pictures to be posted later. I can't get to the server at home from here). Anyways, they've been giving me Dilotid through IV every two hours when I need it, and have been trying to get me switched over to pills. Though they doubled the dose, they don't help at all, so we've been having to do the IV about an hour or two into the pills, because they just don't work for me. Oh, yeah. The doctors wanted more blood for tests, so I got my first non-butterfly blood draw. Here's a pic to see the wonderful bandaid.

So, I just wanted to get everyone up to date. Here's a picture of me while I'm setting up the pictures to go in here. Hope you enjoy!

Sam is in the Hospital

Just a quick note to let everyone know that Sam was admitted to the hospital on Friday night and is still there. Many pictures and details to follow.

What a Pain!

Thursday night, Sam's week and a half-long shoulder pain got so unbearable, the pediatrician sent us to the ER. Doctors were stunned she didn't respond to anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxants. They pushed a bag of water in by IV, and threw on some hefty painkillers. We were then sent on our way with two prescriptions and a VERY stoned Sammy. See the pictures above. Wayne played with her by sticking the hospital barcode to her forehead. It took her forever to figure out it was there and peel it off. She was so dizzy, she had to crawl up to bed.

Ah, fun times in the ER...

Snow Pics...FINALLY!

Snow in Memphis!

I've been trying to upload some snow pics, but Google's server is having problems. But yes, we DID get snow. Enough to close schools two hours early on Friday and to reschedule Saturday's Colorfest. The kids were grateful for the time off, but Chee wasn't liking the weather one bit. Too wet and cold for him!

The Healing Puppy

late Saturday we met someone who helped everyone lose some of the sadness from Pixel and Kokomo. This little guy (we haven't officially settled on a name yet) will be roughly Pixel's size, has Kokomo's affection, Cali's lap-loving nature, and Trybble's sass. He's a long hair Chihuahua we've been calling Chee, for Cheeto Bandito, but the name's so corny it may not stick. He does like being called "Chee" though, so we have to come up with something with those sounds in it.

It was the end of a bizarrely magical weekend. Sam's dance went great. She danced all three hours and met a boy she hadn't seen since elementary school. They hit it off, he asked for her number, and called her the next day to say how much fun he had.

Chris's drumline had come in 4th, but the leaders called him up front to praise his hard work. That was followed by CJ getting voted to accept any awards with the section leaders.

Then on Sam's dress hunt, we were having no luck until we found Dillard's prom section where there were three women's sized purple sparkly dresses. The smallest fit her perfectly and made her feel like a princess. She really needed that size range for breast coverage only, so it was a real challenge. Turns out the $120 dress was on sale big-time. It cost us $42 including tax!

Then it was off to the Puppy Corral where we visited a variety of breeds. I had read the Cavaliers I liked nearly always had heart problems that shortened their life expectancy. After looking around, we met Chee, who made it clear he wanted to come home with us. For two hours we debated the pros and cons. Dogless freedom sounded appealing, but Chihuahuas are so small you can take them almost anywhere, including many hotels. They ride well in the car for long trips, and I could conceal one in a special purse. Wayne and I debated alone with no pressure from their staff. In the end, Chee made all of us smile and feel less consumed by the negativity of Pixel and Kokomo. Chee isn't a replacement for anyone. He's more a mixture of all the animals we've loved and lost. He's a tribute to them more than anything else. I had wanted to rescue someone from the shelter or a rescue group, but when you fall in love, you fall in love...

Houston Drumline Makes Finals

Got word last evening that the Houston High Drumline made finals in the Indianapolis WGI (Winter Guard International) Regional competition. They perform again today around noon. Chris sounded tired, but when I asked if he had some fun, he said yeah which I'll take as good news. He also appears to be eating fine. I was kinda worried about him being away from home for the first time, but his directors have been supportive and great about reminding him to take his medicine. Will report on final scores tomorrow since he gets home after midnight.