Senshi and Pirates and Robots , Oh My!

One week and a Christmas later, I'm back at home, waiting to go back to work tomorrow. BOOOOO.

So, how did it go? Well, it was kind of up and down....

( fa la la la la... )

I think I've caught a cold though; my throat's been scratchy since Sunday, and now I'm coughing. Of course.

And I didn't get any art/fic done while traveling; I slept through most of both trips, just because of how freaking early the trips were (I was on the move by 6am, both ways). But from the sounds of it I'm not doing anything for New Year's besides working, so I may try something holiday-related this weekend. If not, there's always next year. XD;

Dammit, I know alcohol bugs my stomach. I KNOW this.

I should have stopped at one cooler. Hell, I was GOING to stop at one cooler.

But my softball teammate had got up and bought me another before I could catch him, plus another chip for one, and they were $5 each...

We should be able to use one tag more than once. Using 'stupidity' once is an understatement on this one.

*groans*

So, 11 months ago, I underwent surgery to deal with an abscess in my intestinal tract, which had been causing me pain for MONTHS. They had to do a resection (for those not in the know, that's when they remove part of the intestine, and reattach the two parts again). Took me MONTHS to recover, mostly because the opening decided to be a bitch and not heal properly. This was my introduction to the world of Crohn's.

So early in March, my mom wound up going into the hospital. For the first time in 13 years (since she got her ostomy), she was having complications from her own Crohns's (it's believed to be genetic). She was in there for a few days, getting her nutrition back up, and was put back on medication.

She was back there last weekend with pains, and this time they discovered and abscess they hadn't seen the last time she was there. They put a drain in her, and sent her home after a few days with instructions to see Homecare to get it replaced/cleaned every couple days. The whole time she was feeling pain.

My dad wound up rushing her to ER Friday night; the abscess had burst, and needed to undergo surgery for the first time in 13 years yesterday. She wound up not only getting a resection, but they also decided to move her ostomy from her one side to the other (meaning removing/sewing up one side of her, and reopening/implanting on the other side).

She'll be in the hospital for at least a week. She's going to be out at minimum 6 weeks; she's in pain because the morphine just ain't doing it for her this time (immunity buildup?).

EDIT: Just spoke to my mom via the hospital who had better info (and apparently is on better meds). Turns out it wasn't just an abscess, but a fistula, which had been leaking into her body and out the drain. So she's now got 4 separate openings that need to have packing done.

I'm pissed that the CAT Scan didn't show how damn bad this thing was, that the Homecare nurses didn't suspect anything when my mom was complaining of pain, and that they let my mom out so goddamn early in the first place. Two days is NOT enough time.

And even though dad told me not to worry, I really, REALLY wish I wasn't 5 hours away right now.

*goes off to plot for a longer Easter visit*

Oh look, I'm posting here! Must be time for me to attempt a New Year's Resolution again.


Meanwhile, it seems I've got a bit of a Crohn's flare-up going on the last few days. It's not bad enough for me to miss work (thank God, this is the ONE time of year I can't afford to miss work), but it's more than enough to be frustrating.

Worst part is, I did it to myself. I think I can list 'Alcoholic Drinks' as one of my triggers. And I think I suspected it even before too.

Damn it, I NEVER DRINK. EVER.

But noooo, I had to go to a New Years party with 'kids' still in the "Getting Piss-Drunk Is FUN!" stage of their lives, and drank 4x more than I ever do. (Which surprisingly, didn't even get me DRUNK.)

And I'd been doing pretty damn well during all the holiday stresses too, including traveling home. Guess I need to stock up on some FlareFoods again.

*Is really annoyed with herself right about now*