Mood:
amorousNow Playing: Day 763-The Final Road To Survival
Wow! What a weekend and thank goodness its the start of a new week in less than 24 hours. WOOHOA!
I had planned on getting lots of rest however my cell phone started ringing around 10:45am. With the house issues, mold, repairs, etc me and my friend-Caregiver have decided we need to keep our options open and possibly find a temporary short term lease rental until the house is repaired. We are hoping the mold issues can also be resolved but until the air quality company comes out next week and runs their own tests we won't know so its touch and go. The stress lately could knock any healthy person off their feet so its a good thing Gastroparesis has made me one heck of a strong woman! Its also been mentally and physically exhausting.
Since making quite a few phone calls and emails yesterday we had five properties to go through today. Of course this is Mother's Day and I might as well forget doing any celebrating because this will be another busy day. Add to the mix some additional clean ups in the basement after missing a few spots where we forgot to put down mold killer.
Cuddles kitty got sick a few times through out the night and still hasn't been feeling good. The Veterinarian called back with some of the lab results that showed elevated levels with her liver but he doesn't feel that is whats causing her heart murmur. Age is a huge factor and one I must remember since Cuddles is 14 years old. The other test results won't be back until tomorrow. For now he has us keeping a close eye on things and if she still hasn't started eating or drinking by Monday afternoon we will need to take her back to get rehydrated. Her siblings have been taking turns sleeping next to her in between us doing our checks making sure she is ok.
Its been one heck of a rain filled Mother's Day especially traveling to the various rental properties so by the time we got back home I was already beat! Try doing what I am being "normal" then try it on little to no food. Luckily with two of us it means less time finishing up the rest of the list filled with things to do. When I finally got the chance to sit down it was 9pm. I opened my Mother's Day cards and beautiful white gold and diamond key with lock necklace from the gang. Thank you also to my dear friends for your Mother's Day wishes and cards. Happy Mother's Day to my Mom who had a nice time at the spa getting pedi's and manicures with the Stegmans and Roesels girls/woman this afternoon. A very Happy Mother's Day to Nell & Arline who are like second Mom's to me. Thank you for all your kind words of support through out the years.
I am hoping to get a well earned "ME" day later this month. Hopefully by then things will wind down. If you think its tough being sick just imagine tackling the other life issues with the house and finding a place. Harder doing it with just the two of us since most of my friends live out of state. Those who do live in state are busy between work and their own lives. Through life's challenges you truly realize who are there for you. Thank you to those who never let me down and show me what love truly means.
hug me
In between the constant cleaning, sanitizing and outside repairs things just don't seem to stop. I don't see any relief in sight unless some sort of miracle happens and the mold fairies make this nightmare stop. AMEN! My friend has also been watching the rapid changes now going on inside the petri test dishes. His comment today, "How depressing." More like, "How stressing!" We might all be better off and far safer living in that huge tent outside because the air actually might be safer than what is inside this house. Now I must wear a mask even inside my own house. Better safe than sorry until things are further checked out with the air by professionals next week. In between a million things to do mentally and physically I am also still enduring the Drano bounce back which hasn't been easy. I don't know how I do it but I just do.
not sure
Ahhhhhhhhhh......So this is what they like to call having to endure Drano aka Hell-In-A-Jug on a weekly basis or what other patients instead are enduring which is the magic glass bottle aka Magnesium Citrate? Maybe all these doctors and scientists who conduct years of research and data for the government need to just say its called, "Gastroparesis" then maybe our conditions would be taken a bit more seriously. Amen. The problem by not giving the various symptoms its proper name is the same problem why those who don't live with Gastroparesis but live around it are so darn confused. In turn it makes those of us who are Gastroparesis patients frustrated because society fails to understand what we have to go through on a daily basis due to lack of education...
Once I forced my tired body to get up and moving I checked the mold kit petri dishes for any changes. Guess what? WE HAVE MOLD FOLKS! DANG IT!! Seems out of the four spots we tested two are now showing mold growth inside the petri dishes. Of course they are from the basement wall downstairs where the water has been a huge issue and upstairs in the crawl space where the third bedroom is located. YIKES! Seems sleeping in the living room over the past four years which is located in the opposite side of the house where we are having all the water problems might had been the safest place to sleep. The mold is just now starting to grow so its white in color but once again only time will tell how bad things are going to get. My friend-Caregiver suggested we just might need to once again keep our options and eyes wide open when it comes to looking for a new place. Not that my full plate isn't already too full just imagine adding the 50% possibility of having to do a major move. This sure can't be good nor healthy for someone in my unique medical situation. Times like these I question where is Ty and is he going to move that bus so I won't have to deal with more stress? MOVE THAT BUS!
S I G H...
chillin'
Today is the last round of water damage cleanup around the house. THANK GOODNESS! At least we all got plenty of sleep and the fur kids didn't wake us up until 2pm. I was out like a light and slept into the early afternoon hours without having to get up one time. WOOHOA! I sure won't be saying those same words tomorrow since this is Drano aka Hell-In-A-Jug treatment day. 
"FUNNY HOW ONE CAN START TO COMPARE GENERIC DRANO TO NAME BRAND DRANO. CLEARLY I HAVE CONSUMED WAY TOO MUCH DRANO! HAHAHAHAHA!"
incredulous
Me and my friend had spoken to a Realtor yesterday evening regarding a townhouse 15 minutes away our home. We are keeping our options open in fear that the air quality tests next week might show hazardous mold. Black mold is still the deal breaker and although we hope for the best we still must remember we could be facing the worst. Once we got to the property memories starting coming back fresh in my mind because this same area was where I used to live. The townhouse I lived in over 9 years ago was actually right down the street from this property. We even stopped by my old home and I took a few photos. Ahhhh...Life before GP...
The townhouse we looked at is actually in a different community and resembles a German village. They were all very nice and the property was located right next to a bike trail and large park. Things "looked" great until closer inspection. The two upstairs windows had broken seals so once again there would be a moisture problem in the house. Second was the front screen door that needed to be replaced. However the big deal breaker was the foundation cracks in front of the property that would clearly cause basement problems with water coming into the house. 
This evening I decided since I was already mentally tired between the doctors appointment, townhouse search and getting mold cleaning supplies I would just do my treatment tomorrow. We did find the Mold test kits and cleaning products at Home Depot. My friend did the basement cleaning as I took on the CSI role. Hahahahaha! Hey, it wasn't only interesting but also fun! Now we must wait 48 hours to let the petri dish grow mold, if there is mold present in the house to grow. My friend had to deal with the super potent mold killer and cleaner which even a face mask couldn't 100% block out. Thank goodness it was a much cooler day outside and we could open the basement door and turn on the fans. We both gave the mold cleaner products a HIGH FIVE! I won't know about the mold test kit results until Friday so only time will tell...
d'oh
I did find online this evening a do it yourself mold testing kit at a local Home Depot store and indoor mold cleaning products. You know what tomorrow has in store for us right? R I G H T!!...More like-for my friend seeing its not safe for me to be in the basement nor around the mold once it gets a good cleaning and sanitizing. Luckily they are predicting cooler weather with no rain and plenty of sunshine for the next four days so it will be a great time to get the mold cleaning started. At least we have plenty of fans now to circulate the air to go outside the basement door to help quickly dry things out. 
After a long and stressful day me and my friend decided to head up to the local park. Walking is not just great for Gastroparesis but also for stress. Too bad it didn't walk my flair up back down but there is always Drano hope tomorrow. The way things are going I might not have to worry about cutting the rest of my hair next month. The house stress just might do it for me. Hair today. Gone tomorrow...
lyrical
10 Minutes Later...
Much like my intestines, "FOLKS! WE CLEARLY HAVE A PLUMBING/DRAIN PROBLEM!" Hahahahaha! Yes, I did make a joke out of it in front of my friend and we both laughed seeing it was better than screaming. I told him, "There are far worse things that can happen in life and I have been through my fair share." He has been there during some of those hellish times so he totally agreed. Tomorrow we have a few people coming over to start "doing" instead of 'thinking' of how to repair everything. At this point I am more than ready to move out west!
Not that this wasn't a bad enough day I went to use my medication this evening and came across a bad needle. Thank goodness the needle broke off in the medicine vial and not in my stomach. YIKES! It had me so paranoid I almost skipped today's dose but luckily the next needle wasn't a faulty one. The only one who was clearly smiling about the situation was my next Hell-In-A-Jug treatment. Maybe he set me up? Hahahahaha! Since my GP is still in a flair I settled for a limited liquid diet today which consisted of juiced veggies/fruits, decaf coffee-GI mix, watered down Slimfast and a diet IBC root beer. Hey, its better than just drinking low sodium chicken broth. AMEN!
bright
Littleblue sure couldn't get comfortable last night but I assume it is because shes still in heat. She has been driving Oreo nuts too! Littleblue constantly wants outside to find herself a boyfriend but that sure isn't happening. Last thing we need is a house full of puppies. YIKES! Soon enough instead of puppies we will once again have HEDGEHOG PUPPIES! Hee,hee,hee,hee...Since this is her fourth heat it has become the normal ritual. Its back to collecting of the hedgehogs and placing them in a pile while she Mother's and protects them. Its still cute to me! 
Since it was an earlier start to the day than usual we made a list of things to do regarding the water damage from last week. Today it was time to clean out the mud in the garage from water backing up through the drain. Speaking of drain...I finally figured out how to get the top part off and my friend-Caregiver was able to manually clear it out the best he could although you can clearly see there is some serious problems with the drain system. Call it another "temp fix." The garage was another story. Since the water got up to a little over a foot the mud was a huge mess to clean up. Everything had to be moved out of the garage first then items that could be cleaned up were taken in the backyard while the rest went out to the top of the hill near the street. Let's just say within five minutes a bike, grill and firepit were POOF! GONE! I bet by tomorrow everything else will also disappear. I was able to help hose off the muddy things in the backyard while my friend took over the big clean up which took him a little over three hours. At least the garage nightmare is 100% cleaned up and this time we rearranged things a bit differently just in case the garage floods again so we don't have to live through another nightmare. The garage drain was also a huge mess since there was mud literally caked in the main drain. Thank goodness one thing is finally done on the list with four more to go!
My Gastroparesis is still in an uproar this week and today is no exception. Even with increased walking time I have yet to get any relief. This means next treatment coming up is going to be extra wicked! Slimfast has been my sole means to getting some sort of vitamins and nutrition but still it takes me almost half of a Smartwater in order to get the consistency thin enough to drink. This evening I attempted some fudge but once again I quickly found out me and fudge are no longer friends. What went down or "tried" to go down within an hour came right back up. Note to self: Scratch off any fudge possibilities and don't ever entertain the idea again. I have been adding edible mint oil to my Smartwater to help a bit with night time nausea. Now if only the makers of Slimfast could come up with a Chocolate-Mint flavor it would really save me from adding mint oil to my Slimfast or buying MetroElectro Mint water to water it down. Hey, anything in the future is possible! I miss the old Slimfast in a can and all the different flavors. With only having five things a day I can tolerate with my Idiopathic Gastroparesis things are getting old, "QUICK!" For now I will continue like I have over the past eight years with my GP diet. "TRIAL & ERROR." 
Later this evening after dropping by to celebrate another May birthday I headed back home to find my friend working on the basement wall. What a job! Instead of this project taking a few days it might take four. Spackling old concrete-plaster walls is harder than we thought.
Either this temporary fix works to hold the foundation together during the next storm or we are going to be in big, big trouble! Hahahahahaha...Look out next week because I see plenty of projects to come! Watch out GP! Ummm...Another note to self: You can fix walls but you can't fix Gastroparesis. DUH!!
Me and my friend-Caregiver had plans to head out this weekend starting our weekend ritual of finding new places to go however when the GP Monsters come calling there is no stopping them. Instead of going out we decided to start off the afternoon catching up on some yard work. The peach tree in the backyard is full of peaches but at the same time my backyard is now being frequently visited by Mr. Groundhog. I have a hunch he will be the first next month to try out the fresh peaches. Since we have to keep spraying the tree once a week to rid of any fruit flies it does help keep any animals away but once the peaches are ready to eat I doubt the wildlife will care since I won't be able to use any repellent starting next month. I still vow to buy the apple tree I saw last month but I must add that to my "Post-It note" list on the kitchen cabinet door because I keep forgetting. There is so much going on this month even my friend is having a hard time keeping up! At least the roses aren't getting any unwelcome visits from Japanese beetles. In fact we noticed quite a few new blooms today and have yet to ever seen such huge roses but they sure are beautiful!
The place where she is getting rehab is super nice and the staff was very friendly. Her roommate even had a visit from her Granddaughter who brought up her beloved fur kid. The little one was too cute! We all had a very nice time and I hope to visit her again next week.
The drains are meant to "drain" the water from around the house not store it. Water was almost to the top of the drain so surely there is some sort of blockage and luckily it will be looked at tomorrow instead of Monday. The side of the house might need to be fixed where the new awning was built last year but at least the home made moat last night did help with the rain by keeping it away from the window well. 
rushed
Looks like more rain is on the horizon so its going to be a very humid and wet weekend. Ugggg...This weather sure reminds me of being in Panama and visiting the rain forests. One trip in my 20's I will never forget along with many others happy memories. At least the roses and wildflowers in the front yard and around the landscaping are enjoying all this rain. This is the first year in quite awhile that the blooms on the rose bush are huge! My peach tree in the backyard is also doing quite well and looks like there could possibly be peaches to pick come mid June. Hope my new neighbors are ready! Homemade peach pie for all! YUMMY! Well, at least for those who can eat.
Its hard to believe they will all be 14 years old this year. Where did the time go? They are quite energetic and Bear kitty still has his "Crazy-Cat hour" which starts around midnight and continues till 2am. Thank goodness I am on VAMPIREEEE time due to my medical condition because if I was still able to work Mr. Bear kitty would have to find a different play time.
With the rain heading in for the weekend me and my friend-Caregiver made some quick decisions on how to temporarily hold off having flood problems once again in the basement. The last clean up was enough of a pain and with the weather channel showing quite a bit of rain it might be a great idea to temp fix the failing outside drain and basement wall. After going to Lowes then running a few other errands we came back home so my friend could begin doing some quick patch work. So far. So good! If all else fails at least we now have more than enough buckets and mops. Hahahaha! My neighbors are also getting ready for the rain by stocking up on old towels just in case the dirt that was put down around the house foundation doesn't work. Looks like both of us will be seeing lots of repairs starting early next week. THANK GOODNESS! Its been a real challenge on my patience but I must remember there are far greater things in my life to be worried about. Amen.