This Market Shit Makes Me Want to Slit My Wrists

I don't pretend to be an economist, but GOD DAMN. Why are we trusting the ignoramuses who got us into this mess to get us out. F- U Pelosi, Reid, Obama, the whole sorry lot of you. Here's a novel idea. How about we make EVERY ONE work for what they get in life?!

Husband is OK

Just sore. He is at home today drugged up on Darvocet and it really hurts when he pees but other than that we are good.

We were at the hospital ALL DAY Friday. We got there around 9:15am and did not get home until around 10PM - they were just showing the last question on the debate when we walked in the door. It was a long day of waiting. They were able to flush out all the pieces while they were in there so he didn't have to pass any at home. They are sending them for testing but the Dr. said based on his observation they looked like part calcium and part acid. He said if that is the case we can control with medication and diet and he will probably never have them again. WOO HOO!

I am so glad this is over. Now to get all the paperwork in so they can give us emergency medicaid....

TTFN

Some People are Just Strange.........

Here - you learn something new every day.

The Bad Thing About Being a Working Mom

You only get phone calls when your kid starts walking instead of seeing it for yourself.

:(

I've been busy ignoring the obvious, sorry. Husband's surgery is tomorrow and as the day approaches I get more and more nervous. And it's not really about the surgery. From what I understand this is a fairly normal procedure so I'm not really worried about complications. It's the money. They are applying for emergency medicaid for us but I'm just afraid we won't get approved and we'll end up paying for this surgery until we're 80. I knew I should have pressed my husband harder to look for an individual insurance plan, but I didn't, and now we're screwed. It's giving me an ulcer I swear. Add to that the fact that I have a car payment to make and my kid's college to save for, and a house to save for, and I am just not liking life right now.

TTFN

In Case Anyone Cares.....

I got an A on my paper.

OMG! Where Is This Woman So I Can Punch Her?!

Just found this here - apparently ABC is taking "celebrities" opinions on Sarah Palin:

Margaret Cho

"At first I thought Sarah Palin was some kind of Republican pandering -- a misguided attempt to woo Hillary voters over to the dark side, as if they believed women voters were so stupid that they would vote for anyone in skirt, but now I see that she is much, much worse."

"I have nothing against hockey moms -- I just don't want to be one. If Sarah Palin had her way, she would take away that right not to be a mom. She wants to outlaw abortion -- so to call her a feminist is as laughable as calling evangelicals 'Christians.' They shouldn't have the right to call themselves Christian, for they have no Christ-like attributes. I am a feminist and a Christian -- and when I see Sarah Palin -- I see neither." -- statement to ABCNews.com, 9/11/08

I can't even BEGIN to explain all the levels of STUPID in this comment. Hello - ever hear of birth control. FUCKING MORON. Ever hear of MURDER? That's what abortion used as a method of birth control is. MURDER. FUCK OFF MARGARET CHO. You are what is wrong with America today.

Maybe They Should Just Give Me My Degree NOW ****UPDATED

So I had a test in each of my classes last week. The first one in Intro to Computer Info Systems, I got a 100% WOO HOO

The second one, for Business Ethics, I got a 96% WOO HOO AGAIN. The teacher sent an email saying "no one failed MISERABLY" that had me going. The lowest score was a 56%. Nah, I wouldn't call that MISERABLY failing. :D

I have a 3 page paper due tomorrow by 11pm on Object Oriented Programming Languages - which I haven't actually written yet. That's pretty true to form. I'll write it tomorrow at work and it will be fabulous, you just wait!

/messiah-like praise of myself

Seriously though - I CAN NOT write a paper more than 2 days before it's due. I just can't. It does not happen. ARG!



UPDATE*** We were able to get into our ethics test to see what we got wrong. I missed ONE question and it was one that I seriously considered changing but didn't. Had I changed the answer I would have gotten a 100% on that test as well. DANG IT!

BTW - I started my paper last night but then my computer crashed out on me. I am currently into the third page of three with my last body paragraph and conclusion to go. Can I just tell you, I LOVE these online databases we get access to through the school library. The actually prepare the entry for a works cited page for like 8 different styles of citation, and all you have to do is export it to word. I am soooo not missing having to figure out all that when I'm finished. WOOO HOOOOOOO

2nd update*** It's done, It's done! WOO HOO!!!!! I'm sending it to a few people here in the office to read over and let me know how it sounds.

PHEW.

Husband Update

By now y'all are probably as sick of this as I am. :D

We went in for a consultation with the Urologist today - I questioned the need for it, but now I see they really did need to explain what options we had for surgery - because there are more than one!

I've discovered when you have college with arguably one of the best medical programs in the country in your town, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HEALTHCARE. It's a fact of life. Our appointment today was at 11am - they got us back pretty quick - but I didn't get back to work until 2pm. GEEZ.

So anyway - apparently they can do a "sonar" type thing where they put you in a pool and it "pulses" and breaks up the stone. However, those people don't take charity cases (the doctor told us they don't take patients w/o insurance).

They can go in through the back with a wire and create a "hole" where they go in and take the stone out whole. However, since this requires going through the meat of the kidney, there's a chance he could bleed - so that option requires an overnight hospital stay (can you spell cha-ching?). Also - if he bleeds it's likely he'll need a transfusion.

The third option is of course going in through the peni$ - they put in a "stint" to hold open the ureter and then they shoot the stone with a laser to break it up. The risk with this method is they might blow fragments back up into the kidney which he will then have to pass (but they would be smaller and more likely for him to pass without help). They also said there is a chance the ureter would be so tightly clamped that they couldn't get the stint in and then they would have to go in through the back anyway.

We decided to go with option three - he is scheduled for Friday Sept. 26. If anything changes before then and he can't wait we are to call and let them know and they will bump us up. Husband insisted on a Friday so he could have the weekend to get used to the stint (they have to leave it in for like 2 weeks) before he has to go back to work. He plans on not taking any time off if he can help it.

I am looking into an individual plan for him that would only cover "catastrophic" illness (like a surgery or hospital stay) - I am told the monthly premiums on those type of plans are much more affordable.

TTFN

This is for the idiots at work I overheard yesterday

Found on CNN - I hope Glenn Beck doesn't mind if I quote him

Here's a novel idea folks - how about you don't believe everything you see and hear?

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Campaigns are ugly. Watching the way politicians act makes you long for the respect and self-control of the Sopranos. Throughout, there are legitimate attacks and outright lies.

Every once in a while, I get a call on my radio show from someone telling me that Barack Obama is secretly a Muslim, who admitted it in an interview with George Stephanopoulos, and has a fake birth certificate. No, no, and no. As I tell them, there are legitimate reasons not to vote for Barack Obama, no need to make them up.

But the newest target is Sarah Palin. Let's take a quick look at just a fraction of what she has faced in her first few days as John McCain's choice for vice president. iReport.com: Do you think Palin is being treated unfairly?

"Sarah Palin believes God told her to go to war with Iraq!"

There has been some hard-core journalistic malpractice on this one. The Associated Press ran this headline about a speech she gave at her church: "Palin: Iraq war 'a task that is from God'"

In the story, they omit the first part of the sentence they're quoting along with the entire previous sentence for good measure.

Here are her actual words: "Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending them out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that that plan is God's plan."

Palin is clearly praying that we're doing the right thing in Iraq, something sensible for an introspective woman of faith concerned about the lives of our troops to do. She's not saying that she just received a text message from heaven's BlackBerry ordering her to launch missiles. Sorry to disappoint you.

And for those of you who think politicians asking God for guidance is offensive, might I remind you of this famous politician's prayer:

"Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will." --Barack Obama

"She has no experience!"

It's fair to assume that Barack Obama believed he was qualified to be in the White House when he announced he was running for president. At that point, he had been a U.S. Senator for 767 days. When Sarah Palin was announced as a vice presidential candidate, she had been the governor of Alaska for 634 days.

While I'm sure those extra 133 days were filled with personal discovery, I can't imagine anyone seriously trying to make the case that Obama is experienced and Palin isn't.

Unless, of course, you're Matt Damon, who said a Palin presidency would be a really "scary thing" because she has been "governor of Alaska for...for less than two years!" (Damon originally expressed his presidential preference for Obama in December 2006, when he had been a senator for less than two years.)

More importantly, Palin's career has been filled with executive experience. She's the only one of the four in this race who has run a business, town, and/or state (a state that gives her crucial energy experience in the middle of an energy crisis).

When Obama's campaign complains that Palin would be one heartbeat away from the presidency, they should consider that their candidate would be zero heartbeats away.

"But Obama is running a huge campaign -- Palin was just a small town mayor!"

Believe it or not, this one was actually trotted out by Obama himself.

"My understanding is, is that Gov. Palin's town of Wasilla has, I think, 50 employees. We've got 2,500 in this campaign. I think the budget is maybe $12 million a year. We have a budget of about three times that just for the month."

Apparently, Barack missed that she's become the governor of Alaska in the interim. Why would he compare his current duties with her former duties?

Well, since he announced his candidacy, Barack Obama has raised about $22 million a month. That's a large organization for sure, unless you are directly comparing it to Sarah Palin, who is handling state revenues that are about 61 times as large, or more than $1.3 billion per month.

"Palin only supports abstinence to be taught in sex-ed!"

This claim is usually followed by a super classy comment about her daughter and the use of contraception, but the premise is false. Palin hasn't said she doesn't want condoms discussed in sex-ed, calling their discussion "relatively benign."

"I'm pro-contraception, and I think kids who may not hear about it at home should hear about it in other avenues. So I am not anti-contraception. But, yeah, abstinence is another alternative that should be discussed with kids. I don't have a problem with that," Palin said. Hers is hardly an extreme point of view in America today.

"If she cares about children with special needs, then why did she cut spending on them by 62 percent?"

Actually, Palin almost tripled their funding in only three years from $26,900 per student to $73,840 per student.

Incidentally, the amount of government money you spend on a specific group doesn't equal the amount you care for that group, but that's another story for another column.

All of these represent just a small percentage of the bizarre collection of claims being thrown at Palin by her opponents and some in the media -- who are desperately hoping something will stick. I leave you with my favorite so far: The Internet rumors that she harbors racism against Eskimos. If true, she sure has a strange way of expressing it -- her husband, Todd, is half Yupik Inuit Eskimo.

To balance that out, she must really love his other half

I'm Just Really PO'd Right Now

So - we were given a "charity care" packet at the ER when they sent my husband home - they said fill out the paperwork and once it's in the system call them back to do the surgery. Basically she was telling us that they HAD to have the paperwork in the system beforehand or they couldn't discount anything. That's the main reason they sent us home instead of just doing everything while we were there last week. I've been calling the hospital since Tuesday and finally today got through to the person I needed to speak to. She said - and I quote " that's a bunch of crap". I am so pissed right now I don't even know what to say. They could have done all this last week and we could be done with it by now. Instead my husband has SUFFERED ALL WEEK in pain. Man I want to hit someone. And the worse news - we will get AT MOST a 50% discount. That means will could still end up UP TO OUR EYEBALLS IN DEBT. But there is nothing we can do about it, the surgery is necessary - his stone is to big to break up and too big to pass on its own.

Not to mention today is the anniversary of 9/11. You know, that day where the terrorists attacked us - yea, you remember. Pray for the families of the victims today.

And Now For Something Fun...

Found this over at VW's place and I thought I'd try it............

Finish the sentence:

1. My uncle once: brought home a squirrel to live with us.

2. Never in my life: have I been so frustrated.

3. When I was five: I don't remember when I was five.

4. High school was: a pain in the ass.

5. I will never forget: ?

6. Once I met: no one important.

7. There’s this girl I know: who moved to Tennessee and now I can't get in touch with her.

8. Once, at a bar: A co-worker and I TP'd the auditor's car (they bought all our drinks by the way).

9. By noon, I’m usually: starving.

10. Last night: I vegged on the couch.

11. If only I had: lots of money.

12. Next time I go to church: will probably be never.

13. What worries me most: is how we're going to pay for my husband's surgery.

14. When I turn my head left I see: a window (the blinds are closed).

15. When I turn my head right I see: a wall of file cabinets.

16. You know I’m lying when: I can't stop smiling.

17. What I miss most about the Eighties is: being a kid.

18. If I were a character in Shakespeare I’d be: no one, they were all wack jobs.

19. By this time next year: hopefully I'll have a bigger house.

20. A better name for me would be: The Queen of Sarcasm.

21. I have a hard time understanding: people who want to vote for Obama.

22. If I ever go back to school: Already there - almost done.

23. You know I like you if: I bother to show up at your parties or events.

24. If I ever won an award, the first person I would thank would be: my family.

25. Take my advice: make sure you have health insurance.

26. My ideal breakfast is: Waffles or French Toast.

27. A song I love but do not have is: Geez - I have to think of one?

28. If you visit my hometown, I suggest you: stay away from the college - especially on Game Day.

29. Why won’t people: get a grip on reality.

30. If you spend a night at my house: be prepared to wake up early.

31. I’d stop my wedding so: we could wait for the people who didn't make it on time.

32. The world could do without: Obama.

33. I’d rather lick the belly of a cockroach than: nothing - I would never get that close to a cockroach.

34. My favorite blonde(s) is/are: my son.

35. Paper clips are more useful than: staples

36. If I do anything well it’s: drive my husband crazy

37. I can’t help but: be sarcastic

38. I usually cry: when I'm frustrated or nervous

39. My advice to my child/nephew/niece: enjoy your childhood. It sucks to be an adult.

40. And by the way: life sucks and then you die.

See, You Can Learn Something Here.

So I was doing research online about "breath holding spells" because my daycare people are insistent that Patrick is having seizures - I wanted to have something in print to give them until we get our EEG results and can PROVE it. So anyway - I noticed people were finding my site by doing searches on "fainting spells in infants" and well, having been there myself I thought I would do them a service and post what I found.

From WebMD:

What are breath-holding spells?

Breath-holding spells are brief periods when young children stop breathing for up to 1 minute. These spells often cause a child to pass out (lose consciousness). Breath-holding spells usually occur when a young child is angry, frustrated, in pain, or afraid. However, the spell is a reflex, not a deliberate behavior on the child's part.

Breath-holding spells are categorized as either cyanotic or pallid.

• Cyanotic breath-holding spells, the most common type, usually occur in response to anger or frustration. A child's skin typically turns red or blue-purple.
• Pallid breath-holding spells produce a pale appearance to a child's skin. These spells usually occur in response to fear, pain, or injury, especially after an unexpected blow to the head.

Some children have both cyanotic and pallid spells at one time or another in their lives.

Breath-holding spells are most common in children between 6 months and 4 years of age. Their frequency varies; some children have a spell once a year, while others have spells several times a day.

Breath-holding spells are usually not serious, do not cause permanent damage or affect a child's future health, and gradually go away on their own.

What causes breath-holding spells?

Breath-holding spells are usually caused by either a change in the usual breathing pattern or a slowing of the heart rate. These reactions may be brought on by pain or by strong emotions, such as fear or frustration.

In some children, breath-holding spells may be related to iron deficiency anemia, a condition in which the body does not produce a normal number of red blood cells.

What are the symptoms?

In general, breath-holding spells cause a child to faint and may sometimes cause the muscles to twitch or the body to stiffen.

Specific symptoms of cyanotic spells include:

• A short burst of rigorous crying lasting less than 30 seconds.
• Hyperventilating (overbreathing).
• A pause in breathing after exhaling.
• Red or blue-purple skin color, especially around the lips.

Specific symptoms of pallid spells include:

• A single cry or no cry at all.
• Slowing of the heart.
• Pale skin color.
• Sweating.
• Sleepiness or fatigue after the episode.

Some children also have seizures during breath-holding spells, which does not mean they have a seizure disorder. Seizures are different from mild twitching. They are more likely to occur in children who have long periods of breath-holding.

How are breath-holding spells diagnosed?

Breath-holding spells usually are diagnosed by a report of the symptoms observed during a spell. The health professional will examine your child and ask you to describe the spells. Recording the symptoms will help you describe them more accurately.

If your doctor thinks your child has a seizure disorder or another condition, such as iron deficiency anemia, certain tests may be done.

How are they treated?

There is no medical treatment for breath-holding spells, unless a health professional determines that a health problem, such as a heart irregularity, is the cause.

Help protect your child from injury during a spell by laying him or her on the floor and keeping the arms, legs, and head from hitting anything hard or sharp.

You can help decrease the chance of breath-holding spells by making sure your child gets plenty of rest, helping him or her feel secure, and helping minimize and manage his or her frustration.

Some additional information from other sites that adds to this:

Because breath-holding spells do share several features in common with seizure disorders, the two are often confused. In epileptic seizures, a child may turn blue, but it will be during or after the seizure, not before. Rarely, other medical conditions may look like breath-holding spells and a visit to the doctor’s will help clarify the situation.

They occur only while the child is awake.

During a breath-holding spell:

• Your child may make 1 or 2 cries and then hold his breath until he becomes blue around the lips and passes out.
• Your child may stiffen and may have a few twitches or muscle jerks.
• Your child will breathe normally again and become fully alert in less than 1 minute.

Breath-holding spells are not dangerous, and they don't lead to epilepsy or brain damage.

The majority of children will regain consciousness and be fine within a minute or two, but some will fall asleep for an hour or so.

The most important treatment is reassurance to the family, because witnessing a breath-holding spell is a frightening experience for observers. There is generally no treatment available or needed for breath holding spells, as the child will eventually outgrow them.

Nope, Not Insane Yet

PHEW! You just can't believe everything that has happened here since Wednesday....

I know I've posted before about Patrick's "fainting spells" - we had two at daycare and were sent to a Cardiologist who said he did NOT have a heart problem and to a Neurologist (who we saw just this morning - more on that in a minute). Well Wednesday morning we were getting ready to go to work - I was in the bathroom with the door shut and apparently Patrick was standing on the other side of the door (which I didn't know at the time) so I pulled the door open and he fell forward - I think he hit his head (but not hard) and it really scared him so he started crying and I picked him up. He does this thing where he cries, but no sound comes out - it's almost like he's not breathing/can't breath. So he was doing that and I was telling him Breathe, Breathe, like I always do and he all of the sudden got STIFF and his face was all screwed up and he wasn't looking at me or responding and I don't think he was breathing so I handed him to my husband and grabbed the phone to call 911. Well by the time I picked the phone up he was done so I hung up and then next thing I knew Keith is yelling Patrick, Patrick and he set him on the floor and was trying to do CPR - he said later he went limp and he wasn't breathing so I picked the phone back up and this time I DID dial and I was screaming at the 911 lady HELP MY KID IS NOT BREATHING I NEED AN AMBULANCE and she was all calm down where are you and then he came out of it and he was crying and I was crying and by the time the ambulance got there he was fine but I was NOT (can y'all give me a shot) and I was shaking for like three hours after that it was the most horrible thing I have EVER experienced in my entire life. But hubby and I were like a well oiled machine - we never even looked at each other, we just DID and it was awe-some.

So anyway the EMT's said they thought it sounded like a seizure and he was fine and didn't need to go to the ER so we could just take him in to his primary care to be examined. So we did that and primary care said he thought it sounded like a "breath holding episode" which is apparently common in children his age and that we should explain this all to the neuro on Friday (today) and that we should be okay until then.

So that night my husband tells me his kidney is bothering him again. I think I mentioned several weeks ago that he had a kidney stone? Well he went to a walk in clinic because he doesn't have insurance and they gave him pain pills and antibiotics and sent him home and told him to go to the ER if the pain does not go away. So in a few days the pain went away and we forgot about it. Well Wednesday night it came back, and it was WAY WORSE than it was, but he wouldn't let me take him to the ER (he neglected to mention that he was not peeing - a sure sign that he had blockage). Anyway, he did not sleep at all Wednesday night and I insisted Thursday morning I would drop him off at the ER and go in to work (I've been missing a lot lately b/c of the hurricanes and Patrick being sick) and he was to call me and let me know what was up. Well about 10:30 he calls to say they are transferring him to another hospital - he needs surgery. HOLY CRAP PEOPLE!! I think this is punishment for something. So anyway I get to the hospital.... apparently he has a 18mmx6mm stone. Folks if you've had stones before or know anything about them you'll know - that is HUGE. There is no way he can pass that on his own, and the sonar technology they use these days to break them up? It's too big for that too. I did mention he doesn't have insurance? Yea. That bites. BIG. So while we were waiting for all the doctors his pain went away (I guess they think it shifted) so they decided he could make it another 10 days until we can fill out the emergency financial aid paperwork to get a reduced or waived surgery fee and once that's done we have to go back for surgery.

And today? We had Patrick's appointment at the neurologist. It was at 9am. We saw the Dr. at 11:30. JEEEEEE SUS!!! They are the only neuro within driving distance of our house. But I digress. When we finally DID see him, we explained everything, and he had us walk him around the room and interact with him and guess what he said? He agrees with our Primary care. It's "breath holding episodes". I can't even begin to tell you how happy it will make me to know my kid does not have brain issues. However, this is not something that's treatable in the sense that you can take a pill to make it go away. He just has to outgrow them. The good news is, it is only brought on by stress (which means we don't have to worry about him holding his breath in his sleep) and unless he doesn't start breathing again it's not life threatening (He said the chances of that were really slim anyway). and NO PILLS. But we are going for an EEG just to be sure.

And B R E A T H E.

Anyone want to donate a day at the spa? Or on an island somewhere? I think I am losing my sanity.....seriously though? Thanks for all the prayers and well wishes, we really appreciate them.