Sinus Surgery

Last Thursday I had sinus surgery, a turbinectomy and a septoplasty. For at least the last 6 months, I have suffered from chronic sinus infections and in January I had a CT scan that showed inflamed tissues (turbinates) blocking my nasal passages as well as a deviated septum (the cartilage part of my nose was S-shaped) which make it difficult to breathe. Since no antibiotic would help the sinus infections, my Dr. determined surgery was my best option for relief.

When they were bringing me out of surgery and into recovery, and as I was coming out of anesthesia, they had to hold me down because I tried to sit up, take off the blood pressure cuff and take off the gauze they had put over my nose. As I regained consciousness, the nurse asked where I hurt and at that time, my throat was raw from being intubated - they gave me pain medicine and told me to suck on cough drops or life savers when I got home.

Once the numbness wore off from surgery, the pain was incredible! I've never experienced such pain, except when I had kidney stones...when the sheet touched the tip of my nose, it sent shooting pain in all directions through my head and all I could do was cry. I had plastic splints in each nostril holding my nose straight and stitches holding the splints in place. This surgery is NOT worth the pain unless it is an absolute health necessity!

For me, it ended up being a health necessity. After the surgery, they sent samples from my sinuses to a lab for cultures to grow and test. What they found was the infection MRSA (Mersa) - methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus which is a type of bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics. I found out that's what I had Tuesday at 2:30 when the Dr. removed the stitches and splints from my nose. He told me I will have to tell every doctor for the rest of my life that I have/had MRSA because it will affect the types of medicines they can give me. Then at 4, I was watching Oprah and she had a story on it - it can be fatal - very scary stuff. For more information, http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/understanding-mrsa-methicillin-resistant-staphylococcus-aureus.

I have to say I'm glad I had the surgery and I'm lucky they found out what the infection was and can treat it.

Another -0- Year

I turned 30 today. No big deal really. My Monday wasn't any different than most other Monday's except that I got more phone calls, text messages and emails; my teaching team brought me lunch; and Emily took me to dinner and brought me a present. I don't feel any older and I don't look any older than I did yesterday...30 is just another number.
I did want to do something special to celebrate this year so Emily and I went to Humble for the weekend and went with my mom to a tea room in Highlands, TX called the Teapot Depot and then we got pedicures and my stepdad joined us for dinner. It was a fairly relaxing weekend, which is just what I was looking for.
On the 4 hour drive back home, partly in attempt to stay awake and partly reminiscing, I started thinking about other birthdays I've had and how I celebrated them. There are a few that really stand out and others I don't remember at all:
10 - I got my ears pierced and had a slumber party
16 - I had a surprise party
20 - I sat in the emergency room and watched footage of the Columbine High School shooting while waiting to get my ankle looked at - it was fractured
21 -A group of friends took me to Medieval Times in San Antonio and Robin was my waiter (tights and all)
24 - A group of friends took me to the Omni Theater in Ft. Worth
29 - Emily and I went to Sam Moon and went purse shopping, had lunch at Red, Hot and Blue and then drove around Irving taking pictures to spell out "Melanie is 29"
Back when I was turning 10, 30 seemed a long way away. It didn't take as long to get here as I imagined.
I look forward to the coming year and all that the Lord has in store for me.
Lord, let my 30th year be my best year yet!

Maybe next year...

Well, I made the most of a day that I have never once had anyone to celebrate with...the day every single person dreads...Valentine's day. I went and worked out which is an every Saturday morning activity. In the early afternoon, I went to see "He's Just Not That Into You" by myself. It wasn't a great movie, but the premise rings true - at least in my life. I've been the girl to cling to any little hope that a guy might like me; to sit by the phone praying that he'd call - and checking to make sure that the phone did work so that I wouldn't miss the call. Pathetic, yes. But I just wanted someone to like me back so badly.
This evening, a good size group of singles from my church met at Freddy's Custard for dinner and then went rock climbing at Summit Gym. I didn't actually climb but it looked like a lot of fun. I need to practice with just a couple people before I risk embarrassing myself in front of half the singles group!
Overall, I would say it was a pretty good Valentine's Day. I still long for a fairy tale, but what single girl doesn't. Maybe next year...

Bella & Me

I just doesn't have the same ring to it...I went to see the movie Marley & Me yesterday. I thought it was a really good movie, even though I spent the last 20 minutes crying uncontrollably. For those of you that haven't seen the movie and don't want it spoiled, STOP READING HERE...
Foolishly, I forgot my Kleenex, even though I cried uncontrollably during the latter part of the book when I read it 3 years ago just after having to put my dog Ember down - reading about them putting Marley down was like reliving putting my own dog down.
Ember was a 12 year old pure breed Dalmatian with more spots that I've ever seen on a Dal. I had gotten her just before my 15th birthday when she had just been weaned. I was away from her the years I was in college, but as soon as I could find a place that would allow big dogs, I brought her up here with me. At 12, she had become arthritic and cranky. One day she got in a fight with Paisley, my friend Emily's dog. Needless to say, she didn't win. Based on her age, her changing temperament and her injuries, I decided to put her down. It was like losing one of my best friends. She was a good dog. Ember
However, it wasn't just the end of the movie that I related to. I enjoyed the movie more because I could relate to the destructiveness of Marley as well - though on a much smaller scale. About a month and a half after putting Ember down, I got a new dog. It was just too lonely all by myself. I wanted another Dalmatian so I started looking online and I finally found a Dal mix at the Humane Society of North Texas. She was about 8 weeks old when I brought her home. The shelter said she was 3 months so they could go ahead and spay her but they don't loose their puppy teeth until about 4 - 5 months and she didn't lose her until June. Anyway, I brought her home and called her Bella. She was all white with a few brown speckles and hazel eyes!

Bella on her second day at home.

This cute little puppy turned out to be full of mischief. Thankfully, it was all covered by the pet deposit...here is a list of some of the things she did:
1. She chewed through the supply line of the toilet and flooded 3 apartments.
2. She ate all the windowsills in my apartment, parts of the door frames and baseboards and pulled paint off the doors and walls.

Do you see where the paint is peeled off the door? Doesn't she look proud of herself?

3. She dug a hole in my carpet down to the concrete slab.

The hole was in my guest bedroom - through the carpet, she ate the padding, down to the slab.

4. She dug a hole in the crash pad (a big 7 foot long pillow you could sleep on) and pulled the stuffing out so she could fit inside.

The crash pad used to reside at my grandparents house and we grandkids would fight over who got to sleep on it...nobody sleeps on it anymore.

5. She ate a green pen at Emily's apartment and got it on the couch cover (which Emily later gave to me) and on her paws.

Bella's green thumb.

I think those were the major things. I tried using baby gates to keep her in the part of the house where I wanted her but she quickly learned how to climb one, and when I bought a second she could scale them both. She continued with her destructive tendencies until we moved into a new apartment. She hasn't damaged anything in the year and a half we've been here. So unlike Marley, Bella grew out of her destructiveness.

A dog is one of the family and in that I can certainly identify with the Grogan's. No matter what destructiveness she caused as a puppy or what heartbreak awaits when the time comes to let her go (hopefully many years down the road), Bella adds to my life and I can't imagine my life without her.

At my parents house over the summer wearing the pink bandanna her Granny got her.

Looking Back

A Look Back at 2008...

Where did you begin 2008? Apparently nothing exciting because I don't even remember. I think I spent New Year's Eve day driving back from my parents in Houston. What I did that evening...no clue.
Were you in school this year? Did I take classes myself, no. But since I'm a teacher, I went to school almost every single day.
Where did you go on vacation? I went up to Pennsylvania for a family reunion over the July 4th weekend and took a scenic drive back with my parents. I went tubing in New Braunfels with a group from my singles group and went to Texarkana to see my friend Kim.
Favorite Books from 2008? I reread a couple books from high school and found that I enjoyed them more the second time around, such as: Diary of Anne Frank and Catcher in the Rye. I always read a lot in the summer - something like 40 books this past summer. I don't remember half of them.
Did you know anybody who got married? I knew people that got married, but I didn't go to any weddings this year. I have several coming up in the first few months of 2009.
Did you move anywhere? Thank goodness, no.
What sporting events did you attend? I went to my first Mavericks game in April and my first Stars game on December 29th - I had so much fun!
Describe your birthday: Emily took me shopping at Sam Moon, we went to eat lunch at Red, Hot and Blue and then we drove around taking pictures of me with random letters and number to spell out "Melanie is 29". See the post from April for the pictures. We had fun and get got the 9 at one the of the Irving Fire Stations - they were really cool.
What's something you learned about yourself? I learned and admitted to myself that for the time being, getting out of debt is more important than focusing on meeting someone to spend my life with.
Any new additions to your family? My older brother Chris and his wife Amanda had a baby boy. My nephew Pierce was born in April.
Favorite Night out? It was very recent, when Emily and I went to the West End for dinner at Gators and then to the Stars game is ranking pretty high (that was last Monday - Dec 29th).
What do you want to change in 2009? I spend way too much time at home by myself. I need to get out and be more social.
What would you change about 2008? I don’t think I would change much. Parts of this year were really fantastic…and even the parts that weren’t a lot helped me to grow and mature. Everything that happened helped me learn a more about myself and what I want from life and want I want to do with my life.
What random cool things happened in 2008? I'm sure there were some, I'm just having trouble remembering them...
Other than home, where did you spend most of your time? Probably work...not exciting, but I don't do much other than go to work, go work out and come home and spend time with the dog (what a boring life).
Do you have a New Year's resolution? I haven't decided what my New Year's Resolution will be - other than to be more social.
Do anything embarrassing? I try really hard not to do anything that will cause me embarrassment because I don't like drawing attention to myself. I'm sure I did do something, but I've mentally blocked it out and refuse to remember it. What was your favorite purchase? I PAID OFF MY CAR!!!! And I bought a Dyson vacuum - the purple one for animal hair. It was a floor model so it was scratched up, but I got it at a great discount and it does a great job of sucking up the dog hair out of my carpet.
Did you get sick this year? I get sick a lot - mostly just with sinus infections, but during the spring I battled pneumonia.
Start a new hobby? I started making jewelry and selling it. http://www.melodesigns.etsy.com/
Are you happy to see 2008 go? Absolutely. I'm always ready to see a year go and a new one come - you never know what it will hold.
What are you wishing for in 2009? I turn 30 in April - I'm hoping to take a trip to celebrate. I'm still working on paying off debt. I've come a long way and paying off my car was a big step - I'll keep on plugging away at it until it's gone.

Reviewing this, I've determined that my life is pretty BORING. I definitely need to take steps to make it more exciting. If you have any suggestions that won't cost me a lot of money, send them my way!
Now, my blogging friends, it’s your turn. Tell me about your year in review… I can’t wait to read it!

Pink Eye

Bella and I posing for our Christmas card picture.

Last week I took Bella to the vet because her right eye had a gross green discharge and was pink. Lo and behold, my dog had conjunctivitis, otherwise known in the people world as pink eye. The vet gave me some ointment to put in her eyes several times a day for the next 10 days to get rid of the infection. He told me to be especially conscious about washing my hands after messing with her eyes, and I have been.

However, I didn't think about where she sleeps when I'm gone at work all day, which is usually on my bed, either on my pillows or on my pajamas if they are laying on the bed. Yesterday, I woke up with a red left eye. It itched and had some gunk in it, but most of the redness went away when I used my allergy eye drops. Throughout the day, my eye continued to bother me. The nurse at school said it could be allergies or it could be pink eye - she told me to wait and see what happened overnight and if it was sealed shut when I woke up. It sure was. So off to the doctor I headed first thing this morning.

I ruined my perfect attendance record for the school year because I got pink eye from my dog! Who would have thought. I guess I need to start shutting her out of my bedroom when I'm gone.

58 years...

Today my grandparents celebrated their 58 anniversary. I think that's an incredible accomplishment. One I'm not likely to ever match - especially if I don't get married in the next few years.
My grandparents married in their very early 20's, in the year 1950, like a lot of couples did at that time. In 58 years, they have accumulated 3 kids, sons and daughter-in-law, 13 grandkids (several of whom have spouses) and 10 great-grandkids; they worked until they couldn't work any longer (though it was easier to get Grandma to retire than Pap Pap) and they now live in a basement apartment at my aunt's house outside Altoona, Pa. They have had their challenges, their ups and downs, but overall, they have been and continue to be very happily married.
I aspire to have what they have and have had for the last 58 years. Again, as I approach 30, I'm not sure 58 years will be feasible, especially seeing as I have no potentials currently. But it's not the years that I aspire to, it's the love; it's the way they cherish each other.
Pap Pap has been suffering from mild strokes and some other health problems since this time last year. The strokes have really been affecting his personality. I saw it for myself firsthand over the summer when I went up to visit for few days. He was very easily agitated by the great-grandkids noise and rambunctiousness and that hasn't ever bothered him before. He got angry and yelled at Grandma and it just broke her heart. My grandma still loves him with all of her heart, but she sees the man she loves slowly slipping from her. After he yelled at her that day, she just sat and cried, not out of anger, but out of fear of losing him and because it was something he never would have done before.
I want the good and the bad - the forever, however long God's forever is for me - I want my chance to experience the love my grandparents have for each other.


Pap Pap, Grandma, my cousin Blake w/ his son Mason, my Pop