Day 185

Ugh...Hailey woke up at 12 again and again she ended up in our bed. I finally came down and slept on the couch. I was up from 12 - 4! Grrrrrrr

I had 2 doctors appts today - one with the stroke specialist and one with the pulmonologist. Both went as well as can be expected. No clear cut answers as to the 'why'. But here's what we do know:
1: I had a stroke (a small one)
2: I still have a clot (a big one)
3: I had a Left VAD (vertebral artery dissection)
4: My left vertebral artery is useless now
5: My right vertebral artery is working just fine
6: I shouldn't have another dissection forever ;-)
7: I have Pleurisy (it hurts...still)
8: It won't go away for a while
9: It better not come back
10: I don't have lung cancer, a tumor, TB, infection...or any other lung thing other than...
THE COUGH - still no answer what's causing it but the current guess is an allergic reaction to something. Probably laundry. I don't think I can ever do laundry again. Forever.

On a serious note - I'm still in a lot of pain from the Pleurisy. The only thing that's offered are pain meds and I don't see the point in taking them. They don't take away the problem - just mask it. The stroke/dissection/clot are all under 'control' with the anti coagulation meds. For now - I'm not taking the Lovenox injections because my INR is therapeutic. If it falls out of the range it needs to be - I may/may not have to take the injections again. I'm hoping not. I'm weak. I have no strength in my entire body. It's lack of sleep, being sick and not being able to work out...all at once. And it sucks.

Current meds: Prednisone, coumadin, omeprazole, tessalon perles, advair, fluconase and claritin. From nothing at all to 7 meds in no time flat. It won't be forever though - and that's a relief!

I have an MRI/MRA of the Brain and Spine scheduled for next month. Checking for a few things - to see if there is any brain damage and to see if the clot is better. Also to make sure there isn't any more damage happening (that would suck). There was some talk about the possibility of me having Fibromyalagia (I can't even say that word right...so don't ask me to explain it). I'm not sure that it's an official diagnosis but more tests are needed (of course). I saw a total of 4 doctors today. 3 in the stroke clinic (ooooooohhhh it's an 'interesting' case). 1 in Pulmonary. And yet none of them have the power that 2 year old triplets do.

Trips trump top docs any day of the week. Cuz they can make me smile ;-) Nothing feels better than that!

Day 184

2.5 hours of screaming...only to be followed 3 hours later by more screaming. I didn't even bother fighting with her at that point. I just brought her in our bed and let her sleep there. It was an awful night.

They were good today - of course. ;-)

Tonight - it only took an hour to get them to sleep. And we'll see how the rest of the night goes.

Day 183

It's amazing how 1.5 hours can ruin a completely perfect day. We put the girls to bed at 6:30 and they have done nothing but scream since then. Hailey mostly. But she got Hannah screaming and the two of them have just gotten completely out of control. Pete and I have been in there so many times and if it's not one of them screaming - it's the other one. So freakin' done. We got them up - put them back down. NOTHING IS WORKING. Hoping LB comes home soon so we can seriously just let him deal for a bit. He's good like that.

Day 182

The girls slept all night and again until almost 7:30 this morning. This was a great weekend for sleeping 'in'. We really needed it.

We all did some errands together today and then headed over to Pete's parents for dinner. Titi Rosemary made a great dinner of Empanada's and Yuka - topped off with some yummy blueberry pie. She really makes great meals. ;-)

Then it was back home for a bit of play time. Then off to bed for the girls and soon off to bed for me. Tomorrow starts another week.........

Day 181

The girls slept from 6:30 last night until 7:30 this morning.

We went to the mall to Build A Bear today.

The Disney Store still trumps that though. Something about Mickey Mouse that a bear just can't compete with.

Time for more sleep.

Day 180

The girls slept all night.

Today was fun Friday with Uncle Joey.

The girls came to work to visit me which totally made my day.

We all met at home for dinner.

Baths. Teeth. Books. Bed. That simple tonight - no crying.

I'm still sore. And need more sleep.

Bed early tonight.

Day 179

Another long day. The girls didn't go right to sleep last night and Hailey cried so hard she threw up all over the place. This happens more often than I'd like to admit. At the age of 2 - can you really make yourself throw up? Grrrr

It still hurts to breathe today - but I needed to go to work. So we got up and did the morning thing. Then the girls and I headed off to Pete's moms.

Pete and I worked -the girls had fun. Well most of the day. Hannah took a pretty hard hit to the head today while playing outside. She was running for her mittens and fell. You can check their blog for a pic.

I picked up the girls...they were taking turns going down the slide outside when I got there. Since they didn't nap today - they were fast asleep in the car before we even hit the highway. Except Emily. She talked to me the whole way home. She pointed out the big trucks, told me a million times that I was 'Emmie's mommy and even yelled at me when I stopped at a red light. She said 'GO!' lol

We got home, had dinner, played for a bit and then it was time to put the girls to bed. We always brush their teeth 1st. So we're in the bathroom brushing teeth when Hannah hesitates to give me her toothbrush. She says 'Books. Not night night. Books.' So I say 'Yes. We'll read 1st then we'll go night night.' She repeats herself 'Yeah - books. No night night.' They are so in tune with their schedule. If someone is here at night when we go upstairs and they say 'good night' to the girls...they get so upset. They start yelling 'No! Teeth!' Because they know they need to brush their teeth 1st.

After the girls went to sleep (not without a hassle) Pete and I headed for the grocery store. An hour and 1/2 later - we were back home putting all the groceries away. Now it's time for computer stuff and then I'm off to bed. I feel better than yesterday but still don't feel well. It hurts to breathe!!!

Day 178

It wasn't in fact rib pain. It was lung pain. I have Pleuricy. Don't get it. It hurts.

The girls had a good day at Pete's parents. Pete took me to the ED where I was finally given some much needed pain medication and an 'I'm so sorry there's nothing we can do for you except give you pain medication to take home.....' Thanks but no thanks. I'll suck it up buttercup.

Pete took a break, leaving me in the ED, went to pick up Emily and brought her to the doctor. She has a sinus infection. Poor baby. So she's on antibiotics and hopefully will be snot free soon enough! Pete said that every time the doctor put the stethoscope on Emily - she would hold her breath. LOL

Off to get some much needed rest. Gonna tank up on NyQuil and call it an early night. Being sick sucks. Not knowing what is causing all the problems sucks even more.

Day 177

Ugh. I'm just too sore to post - same as last night. I went for xrays yesterday due to a possible cracked rib from coughing. COUGHING! I'm so sick of coughing! They think the cough I've had for 3 MONTHS now is what caused the dissection...and now the rib pain is unbearable. It hurts to breath.

The girls had a good day.

Day 176

OMG I'm watching the show Hoarders and I can't even concentrate on posting right now. All I gotta say is my house is clean.

Day 175

I just now realized last nights post didn't 'post' and when I just logged in to post the draft - most of my written post is gone. Whatever. Here's what was left...I'm not fixing it.



Last night after the girls were asleep - Pete and I went to meet my LB out since it was his bday. The new meds I'm on prevent me from drinking and of course this awful cold that's been attacking my body for 3 weeks doesn't help either. But it didn't prevent Pete and I from having a good time (yes - he drank...enough for the both of us!).



We got home around 1:00. At 3:30 Hailey woke up screaming at the door. She never gets out of her bed so I knew something was wrong. I went right in and after a few minutes figured she must have had a bad dream. I calmed her down (and of course Hannah because she wakes up at the sound of a pin drop).

Day 174

What. A. Day. The girls didn't sleep all night. We had to actually get up and bring all 3 of them downstairs to change them @ 12:30 last night. But they got changed, had a sip of water and then back to bed with no problem. And lucky for me - they slept until 6:45.

We got up and let daddy sleep (till 8:00!). Today I decided I would really push the potty. As soon as we came downstairs and I started to change them - I put them on the potty. Well I asked 1st and they all agreed. So they sat and sat and sat. Long enough for me to get their milk ready. And then I hear Hailey clap. She peed! YAY!!!!!!!! Marshmallows for ONLY Hailey.

Oh boy. This is new. Usually they ALL get rewarded when just one of them goes on the potty. But lately I've noticed Emily & Hannah cheering for Hailey to get her to go - so they can the treat. It was hard to say the least. Hannah wanted those marshmallows sooooooo bad. And you know what made it even harder on my heart? Hailey dropped her cup of marshmallows. I decided I would just leave it alone and figured the other two would swarm like vultures. Emily did. She helped pick them up and of course she ate whatever one's she picked up. Hannah though...she picked up one marshmallow - didn't even attempt to put it in her mouth - and handed it to Hailey saying 'here go'. OMG! Break my freakin' heart.

The rest of the day - Hailey peed 1 more time on the potty and Emily did both on the potty today. Hannah didn't do anything. She tried a couple of times but she doesn't have as much interest as the other two. She'll get there.

Anyhow - Pete woke up and made us all pancakes and my mom came over to visit. After breakfast my mom and I took the girls for a nice long walk (about an hour). Then it was back home to have a snack and some juice outside. I guess I skipped over the hour before Pete woke up when I wiped about 30lbs of snot and cleaned up Emily's puke off the kitchen floor. They're all congested and have the beginning of a cold. On days like this I make sure to stay away from milk because it just causes them to have more mucus. But I wasn't thinking this morning and just gave them their full cup of warm milk and Emily was kind enough to cough so hard she gave the whole thing back to me. I love being a mom.

After our walk and snack - the girls took naps (for 2 hours!) and then we ate lunch. THEN it was off to the park to feed the ducks and have more fun! Pete stayed behind to get some stuff done in the house. My brother Andrew came along to hang out with us. Good thing cuz there were a ton of people at the park today and I wouldn't have been able to let the girls walk on their own if I didn't have an extra pair of eyes & hands to help out. We fed the ducks and then played at the playground for a while (ummm...I guess a little over 2 hours!).

We left and on our way home stopped at the grocery store to buy Little Brother an ice cream cake because today is his bday! We got home, had some cake and by then it was close to 5:00 and the girls were showing signs of being out all day long. We gave them a bath and got them ready for bed but then came downstairs for dinner. (Baths were needed after the cake eating since the blue frosting turned into blue face paint and blue hair coloring).

We had dinner, played for a bit and then off to bed. It took them a while to settle down and it didn't dawn on me until way later that their little legs probably hurt. MY legs hurt from all of the walking today so I can only imagine how their little legs feel! Usually we keep them in the wagon but they were willing to hold hands all day long so they walked all day long. I'll use my noggin next time.

Now Pete and I are going to hang out with LB and his friends for a little bit for his bday while Andrew stays and 'watches' the girls while they sleep.

Day 173

Today was a good day but a disappointing day for me. Pete and I got up (early since the girls woke up at 5:45!). Got ready for work and even thought it's Friday - the girls still went to Pete's moms house today. I dropped them off and headed to work.

Before I went in to work I stopped at the lab to have my blood drawn - if my INR was still above 2.0 then I would be able to stop taking the Lovenox injections.

Worked (and worked hard today - 2 people were out and it left 2 of us to do all the work). Instead of having fun and screwing off on a Friday we did more work than we usually do! Oh well. Then I got an email from the nurse in the Coumadin clinic - my INR fell to 1.8 which means I'll have to stay on the injections. Grrrrrrrrrr it's so disappointing! I get it that people are suffering all over the world and they're suffering so much worse than we are - but I had a pity party for myself.

Left work a little early - picked up the girls and headed home. Only Pete was home when we got here - a rarity these days! Usually there's someone other than us that has come to hang out and have some fun with the trio. So we played outside for a bit with some sidewalk chalk and then we went for a walk. And then another walk (somehow once around wasn't enough lol). We came in and had dinner then the girls got in pj's and off to bed. Not before Hannah read us a story though.

They sleep while we clean and get ready for the weekend. Oh and I pouted when Pete gave me my injection lol.

Now it's time for sleep.

Day 172

Today was crazzzzy. Pete had to be up and out the door by 6:00 this morning. So we were up @ 5:00 and Pete got ready to get himself out before we had a chance to put him to work lol. I got up with the girls and got them dressed then LB fed them breakfast while I took a shower and got myself ready. Then it was off to Pete's moms house to drop the girls off and I was off to an ultrasound.

I had an ultrasound of my aortic artery to see if there was an aneurysm in there that might have been the reason for the vertebral dissection. But nope! All is well with my aorta! LOL

I also saw another doctor today - a new primary care physician. She is going to send me for some tests to see if we can find the reason for this cough that has been persistent for 3 months now.

I worked today too...just a little bit though haha.

Then it was off to pick up the girls and head home....where Pete, LB, Kristin, Andrew & Kim were waiting for us! And dinner was cooking on the grill. We had an impromptu BBQ since it was so nice outside.

Then we played, and ate, and played some more. Eventually we gave the girls baths and did the night time 'thing'. Kim read them books before bed tonight - and maybe it was coincidence but Hannah didn't throw a fit at bedtime. Maybe she likes how Kim reads better than how we read. Hehe.

Then it was time for the adults to enjoy dinner - steak, chicken, sausage patties, potatoes and macaroni salad. So freakin' yummy!

Now it's time to clean up and do computer stuff. Oh - LB & Kristin went to the store to buy cookies to bake. Oh yeah baby!

Day 171

Of course the girls slept in this morning. It never fails - when we use them as our alarm clock - they sleep in. When we want them to sleep in on the weekends...they're up by 6:00! We made it to work on time though.

Pete and I worked. The girls played. Well they 'worked' too because Titi Rosemary was home and since she's a teacher - they had work to do! But she makes it fun for them so of course they don't even know that they're working on anything at all.

Then it was time to come home and have dinner. We played outside for a bit since it was warm again and we had some time.

We ate, girls went to bed (no crying at all tonight! Yay!).

I went to the grocery store and to get gas while Pete stayed behind and cleaned up after dinner. Now we're both just hanging out and doing stuff on the computer. Well he's actually watching TV (some crazy movie) while I work on the computer. But we're sitting next to each other if that counts for anything LOL

Day 170

Haha...yeah yeah yeah - the fish tank was dirty in the pictures. But hey - at least you know I don't put on a front in my blog! Let's face it...the tank was stank! LOL But it's better now.

The girls slept most of the night. We had to go in there at one point but not for long. They didn't take a nap today but I think it was because they were too excited about being outside on a such a nice day. They spent a good majority of the day out there...and even more outdoor playtime when we came home. Who knew picking up pine cones and putting them in a bucket would be so much fun?!?! For the record - I was dead set against letting them touch the damn pine cones but was outvoted by LB. He states the girls have touched them before and they DIDN'T get all sappy. And.......they actually didn't get all sappy. Haha...my bad!

Tonight was the 1st night I didn't need ice on my leg. It's getting better and better ;-)

Another nice day tomorrow!

Day 169

All I gotta say is that this whole post is devoted to an anonymous fish tank cleaner - saver of the Goldfish Little Lilly from poopy smelling water! THANK YOU! If you could have seen the household full of people tonight while we all looked at each other asking 'did YOU clean Lilly's tank?' and we soon realized it wasn't any of us. LOL - that can only mean one person.....Miss Donna! Lilly is alive and well - now we can actually see her ;-)

Day 168

The girls slept all night. So there seems to be no rhyme or reason for Hannah acting like a completel lunatic today other than pure 'I think I am an only child' syndrome.

We had a professional photo shoot for the girls today -thanks to Kristin who was kind enough to set this all up for them/us. It took some major bribery, coniving, and threatening to get Hannah just to stand in front of the camera rather than in Daddy's arms. (Pete ended up leaving for the whole shoot). Eventually they all smiled at the same time - we took some shots and we were done. It wasn't a total loss for sure and of course - there will be some great pictures to come.

But the process was a nightmare and naturally they chose today of all days to have a bad day. Ah well. It was early to bed for them tonight - after baths and reading and more reading and more reading (how do you tell your 2 year old that they CAN'T read more books?) grrrrr.

Then it was off to write a 5 page paper. For school? No. To the hospital. I'll think about posting it but not yet. I need to see the outcome 1st as there are still some unattended to issues. Let's just say that I ended it with 'I'm embarrassed to say I even work for this institution'.

Now the clock says it's 10:43...but my body says it's not quite that late. Don't ask me in the morning how early I think it is though...the answer will be 'too early!'.

Day 167

I got up with the girls today. Me. And only me. That's right. I'm back...(ok I might be sitting on the couch with ice on my leg as I type this but that's besides the point!). The girls and I had some fun 'making' their milk (they're so easy to please at the age of 2) and then watching some *gasp* Barney on TV.

Pete came downstairs a whole hour and 1/2 after we all woke up and he made us a lovely breakfast. After breakfast Uncle Pete came to visit and Uncle Joey came home so we had fun just hanging out in our PJ's all morning.

Then the girls took naps...for 2.5 hours. While they napped - I showered and...sat on the couch. When they got up we had lunch, changed out of their pj's and the girls and I headed over to Lucy's house for a couple hours to just get out of here. Pete needed some time without us. And it worked out great because I was able to sit on the couch at Lucy's while the girls all played in Alex's play room. (note the theme of me being on the couch...).

We headed home for some dinner and more playing and then it was time for the girls to go to bed. Their bedtime is around 7 now and they usually sleep until 6. Sometimes a little later and it's not very often that they wake up earlier.

I'm back - but just not 100%. But I'm getting there!

Day 166

Pete and I were both home today since the girls had their 2 year appt at the doctor today. All went amazingly well. We started to vaccinate them (that just sounds bad when I read it). Today they had their Hep A and Varicella vaccines. We held off again on the MMR. We'll probably get that next time (in 6 months) when they go back for their 2nd Hep A. I'll post their weights/heights next this weekend sometime. Right now I'm sitting on the couch sulking. I have an ice pack on my leg and their notebooks (with today's info) is across the room. I don't feel like getting up.

I know there are people in much worse situations than I am. And today I have to thank Donna for taking me out of my pool of sorrow and telling me to get my head back in the game. I have 3 HEALTHY kids and a great husband...and I didn't in fact die. I almost did. But I didn't. Sometimes I need that extra push. It's not very often that I feel beat down to the point of defeat and today I was feeling that way. But Donna is right - I do have so much more to be thankful for and I need to refocus on those things instead of sulking like a drama queen. I'll leave the drama queen stuff to Hannah...she's so much better at it than I am anyway.

But tonight I'm sulking...simply because my leg hurts. The funny thing is that at work - I'm on my feet much LESS than when I'm at home. So being home today took it's toll. And my leg hurts so I'm gonna ice it while watching TV with my husband, drink some coffee and eventually go to bed.

Day 165

Was a good day. Girls slept all night. But still tired. I can't wait to have my energy back.

Day 164

I'm still not 100% but hopefully will be back to my usual self soon. Thank God for Pete taking over and doing things that I usually do - and without complaint. I think I owe him a huge vacation when I'm better. I still haven't had time to process all that has happened. But what the official diagnosis is: Left Vertebral Artery Dissection.

It's not something that happens to young, healthy people so thankfully there was a doctor on call in the ED that knew his sh*t. Once he heard my symptoms he had a feeling it was a dissection - and he kept me there for more testing to confirm his diagnosis.

Not only am I recovering from an angiogram where they caused a huge hematoma in my leg - I have a cold that I caught from some germ-sharing old person in the hospital. Ok - it might not have been an old person but I bet it was....there were way more old people than young people there so the odds are against them.

So once all of this 'crap' clears the air I'll be back to blogging and hopefully back to my old self again. Minus the daily injections in my stomach that I'm so thankful Pete and Lucy are able to give me because I can't do it myself!

Day 163

Another long day. The girls slept all night, so nice. The girls went to Grandma's house and Michelle and I went to work. Michelle was only there for the morning then she had a doctor appointment. I'm sure you'll be hearing that a lot the next few months. It was like 50 degrees out today so the girls went outside they went on the swings and drew in the sand with sticks. When the girls got home we all played a little before dinner and then it was bath time for them then bed time.

Day 162

Another long day. The girls went to Pete's parents house and they had a lot of fun playing outside with Grandma and Auntie Stephanie. I think Grandpa might have been around for a bit too. Pete and I worked...yup a full day.

I'm still not 100%. I'm actually worse today than I was all weekend. I think due to all the moving and walking on my leg it has gotten a bit more bruised. I have an appt with the MD tomorrow so we'll see what happens.

I am soooo tired. So freakin' sleepy it's not funny! So off to bed early again tonight. I didn't get much sleep in the hospital since they were waking me up every 4 hours to get vitals and check on me. Damn hospitals are not for making people better I swear!

Day 161

It's been a long day. We had a great day with the girls but we're exhausted right now. I'm still not 100%...not even close really. But glad to be home. Need more sleep. (what else is new!)

Day 160

Mama's back! I've escaped the place they call a 'hospital' and am finally home with my family where I belong. Not going to get into it all on the blog just yet but when we have the time we'll put up more details. For now - I'm going to sleep in my own bed and and wake up to 3 smiling beauties tomorrow morning. And one Prince Charming of course....

Day 159

Michelle is feeling better. She has to stay in the hospital until the right level of Coumidan is in her blood. This will take another 2 or 3 days. In true Michelle fashion she has found a way to get a private room and has requested that she is not to be disturbed between 11pm - 5am. She wants to go home so bad but understands that she needs to be there. The girls really miss her, Hailey was asking "where's mama" over and over tonight when I was putting them to bed. I told her mommy has boo boo and that we will go see her tomorrow and she can give her a big hug. Michelle had lots of family and friends visit today so it made her day go buy. If your wondering how I am doing just picture an Army tank driving though the dessert or the Energizer bunny. I just keep going and going. The few times I stopped to process what just happened to Michelle made me breakdown and cry so I don't think about it anymore. I just make jokes about it because that is how I deal with it to keep me together. Tomorrow I'll bring the girls to see Michelle and that is as far as I got with our plans. Now I need to sleep.

Day 157 and 158

Michelle is still in the hospital. They did an angiogram to look at her anterior spinal arteries. There was a rupture on the left side. If you picture the letter Y, the stem is your spine and the left and right arms are arteries that supply blood to the spine. The left side ruptured (probably from coughing) causing the blood to clot and blocking the blood from flowing on that side. This caused her arms to go numb. The right side started to work overtime to compensate for the lack of blood flow which brought the feeling back to her arms. Still with me, ok. To fix this she is getting a blood thinner through IV while she takes a blood thinner by mouth called Coumadin. Once the right level of Coumadin is in her they will take the IV out and send her home (2 or 3 days). She will have to take Coumadin forever, I think. The blood clot will harden like concrete in like 6 months and she will never regain the blood flow through the left artery. The blood thinner will make it easier for the right artery to do all the work.

Some fun facts from the doctor. The doctor walked in the room and said she should buy a lottery ticket. The fact that the blood clot didn't come loose and go into her brain is a miracle. The fact that the right artery kicked in to overdrive is a miracle. The fact that she isn't paralyzed or dead is a miracle.

Thank you for praying for her.

Day 156

I got a lot of sleep last night. The girls slept all night and that means so did Pete and I. Which was great because I haven't been feeling 100% lately. I've had a cough forever, a sore neck, a little congestion. Not a big deal. Pete's been sick too - he had a throat infection and also has some congestion. So getting a good night's sleep has been really beneficial for the both of us. And today I felt great when I woke up.

The day started off as usual. I got ready while Pete got the girls ready. Then the girls and I left and headed to Pete's parents house. I dropped off the girls and headed to work.

I get to work @ 7:57 and there were already pts waiting to be put in rooms. So I drop everything on my desk, grab a pen, grab my stethoscope and head up front to grab the 1st chart. All of a sudden my arms went completely numb. Numb from shoulders down to my fingertips. At first I shrugged it off. Just stood there for a minute and thought it would go away. But then I realized I couldn't move my fingers at all - no matter how hard I tried. Put your hand in a fist...I couldn't do that. Open your hand wide - I couldn't do that either. Pick up your arm...nope. Complete paralysis was what I was experiencing.

I looked at 2 of the girls I work with and said 'Something is wrong. Something is really wrong.' Inside I was panicking. All I thought was that I was having a heart attack and dying right then and there. The nurse I work with was right there asking me questions - then a doctor. Now I'm in a room and the doctor is asking questions and examining me when a sudden sharp pain went right across my chest from shoulder to shoulder. Then just as quickly as it came - it went.

I was scared to say the least. By 8:30 I was in the ED being evaluated. I saw many doctors...all of whom were scratching their heads. I could see the nurses station from where my bed was and so I heard the conversations. Things like 'I have an interesting patient with concerning symptoms...' After telling the same story to a lot doctors and then having an MRI (no pinched nerve) and then waiting in the ED for yet 'one more doctor' we (Pete came right away) finally had a doctor in front of us that was full of excitement because he thinks he knows what's going on. This is good and bad.

Good - because we might have an answer. Bad because I don't think it's an answer that we really wanted to hear. 1st there was question of my ITP (look it up I'm not explaining it) returning. These words alone made my heart sink and the blood drain from my face. But that was quickly ruled out with some blood work. Thank God. Now the neurologist thinks I have what's known as BECK'S SYNDROME. With that being said - he admitted me to the hospital for more testing.

If I were to go home he said the symptoms might come back and there's a possibility of a stroke and/or aneurysm. No need to have a stroke at home when you can stay here and let the experts take care of you! I am scheduled to have an angiogram tomorrow to 'rule out' the aneurysm and see if there is some deformity of the spinal cord that would be cutting off my blood flow. I think both would mean surgery but haven't gotten to question the doctor that much in depth yet. Pete and I were pretty much in 'go go go' mode when we realized I wouldn't be coming home today.

Luckily for us - my mother in law was ready and willing to keep the trio for the night with no problems.

So here I sit in the hospital with Pete next to me. Had some visitors that kept me company for a bit ;-) And we'll have to wait and see. I'll have to say it's been a scary ride. But we'll get through this just like everything else...as a team and family.

Day 155

It's funny how Pete and I think completely differently. I would have written something totally different from yesterday. But then again - my day was different because we spent the day apart.

The girls woke up at some point last night but didn't need us to go in there. They fell back asleep on their own. We got up and came downstairs to get the day started. Miss Donna came - and not empty handed today. The girls LOVE to carry little shopping bags around with them. Miss Donna has been here enough to know that we don't have 3 shopping bags...but we do have 3 toddlers. So she brought with her - 3 little shopping bags and the girls of course love them. The filled them up with their groceries and walked around with these little bags like proud shoppers! Haha...Hannah was wearing her bag on her head tonight (please note these are cloth bags...lol).

Pete and I worked. Pete's mom came here to watch the girls today.

My older brother Andrew came here before Pete and I got home and he made us all dinner! Whooo hooo! I could really get use to that. Then while we played after dinner...he even cleaned up! Yup...I could really get use it.

I'm going to make it another early night. Still not feeling 100% so I think sleep might help.