You Can Stand Under My Umbrella

SO we're finally home. McStudly was discharged yesterday from the hospital and was super excited to finally sleep in his own bed, last night, next to his wonderful, amazing, totally awesome wife *cough cough*. And he missed his dog a little bit, too (understatement of the century). It was a very happy reunion, folks.


So the Doc "feels strongly" that it's Crohns' Disease. The biopsies from Friday's Colonoscopy came back "inconclusive", but she said that's not uncommon for Crohns' patients. There's one final test they are waiting on, and here's the thing: if it's negative, it won't rule out Crohns', but if it's positive, it'll pretty much point all fingers in that direction. Let's hope we just get some more answers. We don't like getting a "probably" diagnosis. We aren't the kind of people that just want "a" diagnosis... we'd rather get "the" diagnosis, even if it's "we don't have a clue", though that would totally suck.

I'm exhausted. I can hardly say he's exhausted, but he is tired of all the drama of this past week. Poor guy's got thoughts flying a mile-a-minute in that gorgeous skull of his... and so many questions.


The kicker? We have to decide by Friday is he's going to re-enlist. You see - he's been working tons of job leads for the past two months. Some have fallen, some have re-appeared, and some have been going strong. But a few of them needed him to get some information to him this past week... and then this happened. So we're kind've in limbo as to where they sit, and also if it even matters.

The thing we've learned about Crohns' is that it's pretty unpredictable, at best. You can have a mild to severe case, but it can change. So you may have a mild case this year and then next year it's severe. Or, you can go into remission and not have a relapse for 30 years. So... we're still learning. Our biggest concern is it's impact on employment. We've read that it can make a difference in some areas. Depending on how severe of a case it is, of course. And the 10 pills he's currently taking a day (which is supposed to be 18, if they can figure out how he can take this other medicine... we'll get to that later) for a mild case of Crohns' disease would be WAY expensive without Tri-Care covering it. Not to mention what could happen in a normal job if he has a flare-up like this one, where he was in the hospital for 5 days.

It seems that re-enlisting is the most reasonable option. And it's not awful, just not necessarily what McStudly wanted to do. And I want him to be happy - cause when McStudly's happy, I'm happy... and Austin McDog is pretty easy to please either way, but it still helps.


The worst part, at least for the next 3 weeks, is the pills. McStudly has NEVER been able to take pills. NE-VER! Since he was a child. His father even put him in the bathroom, once, and told him he couldn't come out until he swallowed them. He sat in there for hours. It didn't happen. McStudly was sad. But that means that now - we have to buy everything in Chewable or liquid form. And I guess they don't make Flagyl in an orange flavored, chewable tablet... or any of his other meds, for that matter. So we have to crush them all up in applesauce or Chocolate pudding. We may try oatmeal, too, but that's still up in the air.

The Doctor prescribed something called Pentasa, which is a common Crohns' medication. The problem? It's an Extended Release (ER) tablet and, well, he can't take pills! Crushing an ER tablet just makes the whole "timed release" aspect null and void. In all fairness to the Doc, she didn't know he can't take pills. In all fairness to us, if she had given us more than a split-friggin-second of her TIME then we could've TOLD her!! (different rant for a different post, I suppose...) So we talked to the Physicians' Assistant (PA) - who was AWESOME,by the way - and she did what she could, but wasn't able to find another form of the medicine. So she recommended we talk to the Pharmacist about similar meds that may work. Well, he came up with another ER tablet (super helpful, sir!) and one non-ER tablet (hooray!) which we called the PA back about... etc, etc.

So the Doc just decided she wanted to call the people who make Pentasa and see if it would be alright for McStudly to just spill the contents of the pill and take it that way... obviously making it no-longer ER, but still giving him the meds. Once we hear back on that one, we'll be adding at least 8 more pills to the daily mix, and possibly more - because he has to take 1000mg 4 times a day, so it'll just depend on what dosage they give him.


Whew! That's a lot! We're still considering getting a second opinion, but that would be the military, so it may not even be worth it... then again, the guy he saw last time was pretty good, so it may not be bad after-all.


So - question for all you mil-wives out there: any idea how/if Crohns' can affect eligibility for enlistment? Or if he'll be deployable? We're pretty sure an auto-immune disease would make some kind of impact, but we're hoping not, if it's under control by meds, etc.

Anywho, prayers are greatly appreciated. Thoughts are pretty much just as good, and encouragement would be wonderful! McStudly went from being completely healthy - never sick a day in his LIFE (literally, I believe) to now having a disease that will be with him for the rest of his life. It's life-changing, for him. Not that he felt invincible before, but it's kind've a wake-up call to someone who's taken advantage of their health for so long... maybe even a reminder to those of you who are doing the same?



Well, I want to thank all of you for your warm encouraging comments and your help (Kristin - THANKS for the advice about the C. Diff diagnosis!!). You've been so great to us and we appreciate all of your support. Now - hopefully we'll be able to have some more upbeat posts in the near future, instead of this depressing medical drama.

I'll leave you with the lyrics to a very well-known song that's been in my head for the past week. I think it sums up an aspect marriage the that it's supposed to be, and I love it - so far every version I've heard is great, but the version I like right now is actually Mandy Moore's mellow-er version (hang in there... it gets good in the middle). Check it out if you get the chance - it's NOT the original, not even close, but it's pretty awesome. Anyways, here are the lyrics:


"You have my heart
And we'll never be worlds apart
Maybe in magazines
But you'll still be my star
Baby cause in the dark
Who can see shiny cars
That's when you need me there
With you I'll always share
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'd always be your friend
Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we'll still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella eh eh)

These fancy things
Will never come in between
You're my entity
Here for Infinity
When the war has took it's part
When the world has dealt it's cards
If the hand is hard
Together we'll mend your heart
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'd always be your friend
Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we'll still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh)
Under my umbrella

You can run into my Arms
That's okay don't be alarmed
Come into Me
There's no distance in between our love
Gonna let the rain pour
I'll be all you need and more ooohh
Because...

When the sun shines We'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be your friend
I Took an oath I'mma stick it out 'till the end
Now that it's raining more than ever
Told you we still have each other
You can stand under my Umbrella
You can stand under my Umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)
Under my umbrella (Ella ella eh eh eh)

It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining (raining)
Come into me
Come into me
It's raining (raining)
Ooo baby it's raining (raining)
Come into me
Come into me"



I love you, baby! Forever and ever. 143

Toodles!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PS: I really am going to send out those Pay-It-Forward gifts. Things have been a tad-bit crazy, lately. I hope you can understand!!

The Skinny

McStudy's been in the hospital since early Wednesday afternoon. He hasn't had anything to eat since the apple he ate late Tuesday night and he's been given fluids and antibiotics to treat his symptoms.

They believe and are treating it like Crohns' Disease. However, this morning we were thrown a curve-ball. (if you're squeamish or don't like talking about intestines... stop reading. kthanksbye)


The Physicians' Assistant came in this morning (the same uber helpful girl we had last time we were here - she's seriously amazing, folks!) and told us that the stool sample that McStudly gave Thursday morning (it was not easy... but he finally did it) tested positive for C. Diff (click the link to read more about it - it's kind've creepy and anyone can get it).

They want to make sure that it's just C. Diff, and not a combination of things, so they moved forward with his Colonoscopy, scheduled for 1300 today. So... as I type they should be finishing that up. But, the thing about C. Diff is that it can cause spores to develop in the intestines, which can prevent them from being able to do the procedure. Hopefully that wasn't the case and they were able to do what they needed to do.


The strange thing about C. Diff is what causes it. Now, read up on it, via the link above, because it's something that can be easily spread from person to person, meaning anyone can get it at any time... but the original cause is usually antibiotics. Weird, right?! When you take certain antibiotics (like Flagyl), it kills the bacteria in your intestines. The problem? It kills both the good AND the bad bacteria types. This allows C. Diff - a common every day intestinal bacteria - to actually start running rampid in your intestines. It kind've takes over and make itself at home, so to speak. Puts down some nice roots and sits back to enjoy the havoc is wreaking on the body it's living in.

It presents itself through diarrhea, fever up to 105, and abdominal cramping... so pretty much the same as bad Mexican food, so most people write it off for the first little bit, until it gets so bad that you can't stand it anymore - which is what happened with Mcstudly.


The reason this is all strange to me is this: if C. Diff happens when your body's bacteria levels are off kilter and you can't fight it off on your own, the how did McStudly get it in the first place? I ask for this reason - McStudly isn't working, right now (thank to his military terminal leave) so he doesn't have contact with anyone at work. We are at church only 2 days a week and we both come in contact with all the same people. So that leaves me - and I've never had C. Diff before. If this is the case, then where did he get it? Up until the first "episode" (which you can read about here and here), he wasn't on any antibiotics. And he hasn't even so much as thrown up in about 7 years... up until this past Wednesday, that is. So how did he get it in the first place?


The Doctors are all wondering the same thing. Which is why they went ahead with the Colonoscopy. Something had to cause the first "episode", at which point they put him on antibiotics... and then the antibiotics worked their magic and over time allowed C. Diff to run rampid and screw with McStudly's emotions.



The bottom line is that we don't know anything yet. Scratch that - I don't know anything yet. Looking at the time, his Colonoscopy should be finished and they have hopefully learned the cause of everything at this point.

Either way, I'm ready for this to be over (and I'm sure McStudly, if he wasn't heavily medicated and loopy at the moment, would be throwing in a hefty "Amen!" at that) and life to be back to normal... whatever that means.



I'll keep you in the loop as we learn things. Check out my twitter for updates as I get them (and it's posted on the right column for those of you who aren't cool, yet, and don't do twitter).

Toodles!





PS: If you are able, go get some sleep for me. I'm running on about 6 hours total since Wednesday morning and it's NOOOOTTT cool. Just ask my co-worker... she'll tell you. ;-)

Oh yeah - Another PS: Anyone living in the MD area want to watch my over sized cuddle-pup this weekend? Poor thing hasn't had any time out of his crate except to eat, poop, and pee, and then he's back in again. :-(

You Can't Call Me A Slacker - the ER Saga, Pt I

I know I haven't blogged yet this week, but you aren't allowed to call me a slacker.

I'm pooped, and I have a good reason (not an excuse. There's a difference - right Cory?).


McStudly started having some stomach issues around Wednesday last week. We assumed it was gas. Haven't you ever had those gas pains that really play tricks on you? The ones that feel like they're just going to blow a hole through your stomach, they hurt so bad (sorry if you can't handle the imagery... my bad). Well, we wrote it off as gas.

Friday night, he was still pretty uncomfortable, but if any of you have a man in your life, you know how anti-doctor they can be. You'd think he was going to see Dr. Bin Laden, or something. And the Airman in him just coulc not approve of that.

We both tossed and turned all night - if you share a bed with someone, you know it's nearly impossible for only ONE of you to toss and turn. It's practically contageous! Until he got up to go to the bathroom early Saturday morning.

He came back into the bedroom grabbing at his stomach and before he said anything, I knew... call it intuition, or call it just plain luck, but I knew it was pretty bad. So he started to say it "Babe... it really hurts." I need to take you to the hospital, don't I? Come on. Get dressed. Let's go.


He didn't even fight it. I think we were both concerned for the same thing. The pain was on the right side of his stomach/abdomen. Who wouldn't think it was his appendix? So we went in to the hospital. I let McDog out before we left, but didn't feed him since it was only 5 am. Even Austin was confused that we were awake!


We arrived at the hospital and it was DEAD! So we were taken right back and put in a room. After a few questions and a few different people asking the same ones over and over, the staff came to the same conclusion - the appendix. So McStudly was given to bottles of Barium to drink (Banana flavored, in fact) and I was given apple juice and a chocolate chocolate chip muffin (life's not always fair, is it?!).

It took him 4 hours to drink the barium. 4 HOURS!! The best part was his response to the whole thing (backstory - I had to drink the stuff when I was 14, back before they flavored the stuff). He said "You're a better person than me, babe. You could drink the stuff, but I just can't." Ha ha. Priceless.


But honestly, there was something that topped it off EVEN more! He had such a hard time with the barium, that he was getting more and more nauseous. The pain wasn't helping with that, so they started giving him pain meds (Delodit - sp?) and something for the nausea (Zefran - sp?), yet there was a man riiiiight outside our room that puking his GUTS out! Seriously... somehow the man managed to sound like chewbacca and it was making things even HARDER for McStudly. So we shut the door and the meds started really kicking in.

And then it happened - he got loopy! ha ha ha. OH boy was it entertaining. I almost wish I could've gotten it on camera. I was on the phone with his mom during part of it and she was even laughing. He was telling me that I smelled like Heaven. He was humnming along with his new favorite channel on the television... the Calming and Relaxation channel - you know, the one with the scenic, unending video montage of quiet streams and sunset, accompanied by some kind of soothing asian-esque music? Yeah. He hummed along with it. HYSTERICAL!!

While he was in la-la-land, I was practically force-feeding him the barium and he was just drinking it up! We had some friends come visit while we were there and unfortunately, he was back to his normal self by the time they got there. Major bummer! But it was nice to have friends around for a change.


Well it was a long Saturday in the ER. He finally went for a CT scan and as it turned out... we were wrong. It wasn't his appendix at all. According to the ER doctor, it looked to be Crohn's Disease.




... more to come...

Narco-what-a?

A friend on twitter went to work as a "Narcoleptic" today, or so he said. It made me laugh... literally... I actually laughed.


But even funnier was when I read this on wikipedia (to make sure I wasn't mixing it up with another disease): "Daytime naps may occur without warning and may be physically irresistible."



Does that strike anyone else as funny? ha ha.... it goes on to say this: "These naps can occur several times a day. They are typically refreshing..." ha ha ha.







Why am I so easily amused? Could it be due to my own intense lack of sleep?! I may print this information out and post it at my desk.

MHR Friday!

Here we are - it's Friday, and my Husband STILL rocks.

You see, I've been having a really rough time, lately. I have been completely exhausted. I haven't been sleeping well, and no matter what I do, nothing seems to work. I have also been wanting to start working earlier, so that I can get off work earlier, and so I've been trying to change my usual routine (as of this week, this is).

So, while talking to McStudly last night on the phone (he works nights, so that's kind've all we get), I asked him to wake me up a little after 6, when he gets home, and help me get up for the day.

Well, to sum up the complete frustration that has been my last few weeks, now, I went to bed around 10 or 1030, and didn't get to sleep until around 2 (last I looked at the clock, it was 130!).

So when he got home this morning, McStudly came in to wake me up, but could sense my hesitation (which was to be expected). Once he found out that I didn't get to sleep until around 2, instead of his usual way of forcing me out of bed, he just lay down next to me and said "Okay, but is your alarm at least set for the normal time?"

He let me go back to sleep, after I made him SWEAR to get me up last night. He's so understanding, and patient, for the most part. I know he's just as tired of all of this as I am, but at least he's understanding and patient, and not just mean about it.

I love him. He's so good to me, even though he knew I'd be beating myself up for not getting up, later... he knew I needed it.

(I know this seems like a weird MHR post, but believe me, if you had any idea what the past few weeks have been like for me, you'd know how much this meant to me.)

He knows me better than I know me, sometimes. He's so dreamy!

Well, It's About Dang Time!

Hey guys! Sorry - I'm a slacker. I was actually sick yesterday... McStudly gave me a fun version of whatever it is he came home with, and I was battling it yesterday. I think it won, because I'm still battling it, but I am feeling a lot better. Finally!



Well, yesterday afternoon, after my fever finally broke, McStudly wanted to go out and look at bedroom furniture. He's going back to work tomorrow, so we were short on time. So... I drugged up and we headed out. First Showman Furniture... then Roomstore... and finally Value City Furniture.





AND *ding ding ding* We HAVE a winner folks!! Value City's prices and warranty's, plus their low (compared to most) delivery/set-up fee made it the perfect place for our furniture purchase.





We found one set that we both loved:

But unfortunately, the Chest (tall dresser) was out of stock, and back ordered until December 3rd (not cool for McStudly!), so we moved on. We both really liked it, but what can ya do, folks?!

As it turned out, the furniture we "moved on" to was actually a much better deal. We got a free lifetime warranty on the set. Everything was in stock, and it's quality, real wood furniture from American Signature, so it's really nice. Here it is:

That's it! And this next picture actually has the bed that we got (even though we both LOVED the canopy bed above, this bed was only $100 with the dresser and chest. Gotta love a good deal!).

By the time we had decided on this set, I was WAY past ready to go home. We signed the papers, paid for it all, and then went on our way. I was back to feeling not-so-good, so I was VERY glad that dinner was already in the crock-pot and almost ready to eat when we got there.

So here I am, today, back at work, and wishing I was at home and cuddling in bed with my warm McStudly. Why is it that I've found it harder to get out of bed now that he's home, again?

*sigh