Ethan’s Journey

 Happy Halloween! Today was such a wonderful day. I enjoy having the windows open and feeling the breeze. My allergies hate it and have been trying to ruin my day for the last 24 hours with a nasty headache. Luckily, Claritin makes a significant difference. Ethan mentioned today that Halloween was way more fun when he was younger. I agree. It was more fun. The weather is perfect this year for the kids and their parents out collecting candy. I can remember freezing with the kids. But we survived and have the memories to prove it. Now…it’s just another day. I am part of the FUN committee (no joke) at work. We were given 30 minutes at our meeting today for FUN. Myself and the others organized to have a slide show of fun costumes and we voted funniest, scariest and cutest. Paul and I won the funniest as I shared our Deer in Headlights from a few years ago. We also had to guess everyone’s most irrational fear. That was fun because the irrational fears ranged from clowns in tiny cars, to...

 Where did October go?  Today was so pretty out. My windows were open and this evening I enjoyed hearing the bugs, frogs, and even an owl. My Sarah took a job about an hour away from her house. It is 11 minutes from my house. She works 2 12 hour shifts back to back. So she is going to be spending Wednesday nights here. I was so excited all day for her to get done with work. When she arrived we chatted. I do miss being in the clinic and working with the clients and their pets. My body just says “no thank you.” I have to find joy in other ways in the industry. Tonight, I had a girl that wants to start off in the field but she has minimal experience. I was able to find a clinic that is willing to give her a chance. She sounded young and nervous but very eager. I her interview is tomorrow. I asked her if she would like to have a mock interview to prepare for her day tomorrow and she said “yes”.  I spent about 40 minutes on the phone with her and I am hoping that tomorrow she ...

 I slept terrible last night. I just couldn’t sleep. There was really nothing on my mind. I was anxious or worried. Just “not tired”. But for hours on end. I ended up finally falling asleep around 4 am. At that point I had moved to the couch and was snuggling with Penny. Today went alright. I went to physical therapy. My back just feels bruised and like there is something out of place.  I did LOTS of stretching. She did some deep tissue work as well as she introduced the cups. She gets on top of the table and puts all her might into trying to get the softball sized knots out of my back.  Ouch! The cups actually weren’t terrible. But it may had been such a relief from the deep tissue work. I am making progress and standing a good part of my day again. I do take several breaks but WAY better than last week. Ethan finished his first mechanical assignment a day early. He was very proud that he had figured out a way to make the process he was doing a little more efficient....

 Today I was cranky! Everything was annoying me. Work annoyed me. Social media annoyed me. Penny annoyed me. Poor Penny. She excessively licks Paul. He allows it. It drives me crazy. The slurping noise of her tongue gliding over his hairy arms. Bleck! 🤮  In my annoyance it was best that I was home alone the majority of the day. Ethan got home and was in a good mood. He was chatting with me. Avery called to talk something through. As we were chatting, she was making me laugh. Family is good for that. I made a margarita and told Paul that I was cranky. The margarita hit the spot! My back is feeling small bits better everyday. I stood up to work part of the day today. I go back to physical therapy tomorrow. Hopefully it will be less torturous! Tonight, Paul and I were sitting on the couch. He was listening to me commenting on things that I was reading. We were discussing different things. I was pointing out the inconsistencies of this one article and he was on the same page. We ...

 Avery stopped by the house today. I like to think it was to visit me, specifically, but she had to pick up her teapot. She is so excited for her adult purchase. Prior to her arriving, she sent me the most “Alex P. Keaton” text. She was so excited that she was early voting. She was describing the people around her in line. All of them were older than her. She said they were having the most “old people” conversations. For example “someone was talking about their property taxes.” At certain ages you drift into the lane of discussing boring adult things with strangers. She is not there yet. It was a good moment to laugh about.  She went with me to pick up groceries. We chatted away in the car about different things. She doesn’t like the smell of her room mates used coffee grounds. At one point, I mentioned that I wished I had brought a beverage. Without missing a beat, she says “want me to spit in your mouth for you?” “NO!…..Avery Reese! Yuck!” She laughed and laughed. She likes ...

Got Ethan to the lab bright and early this morning. The sun was shining on all the beautiful colors of fall displayed on the branches of the trees.  Our wait wasn’t too bad. Only about 10-15 minutes. Ethan asked to go grab some donuts/apple fritters from the local family farm store. We added some cider. These are just so delicious! The donuts were still warm when we got home. That donut was gone so fast! I ate it like a wood chipper. The camper is now covered and hibernating for the winter. We had some pizza for dinner (donuts and pizza is the diet for champions).  My back is feeling a little bit better. It just feels bruised and sore to the touch. I did little bits and then would rest. I am feeling like I am making progress. That is encouraging. This back thing is not nearly as cool as a camel bite to the arm.

 I went back to physical therapy today. I was feeling some improvement. My physical therapist had me doing stretches and a little bit of strengthening.  I told her that I was still feeling tightness in some spots. She started doing the deep tissue work where she impales her thumb into knots in the muscles in my back.  She left bruises on my back from last time.  While this is quite uncomfortable, I had seen progress the last time and was hoping for more this time around.  She had remarked that she had never seen witnessed someone’s body react the way that mine did to those damn 5 planks. My body does not like to exercise. It is built for other things like walking dogs and sitting by campfires. My muscles were upset when I left and I had to keep stretching multiple times throughout the day. BUT I was up a little bit more this afternoon. I was standing to work a little bit with frequent rests. Ethan has been helpful around the house. He did some mowing yesterday. ...

 Guess what I did today! I stood for 15 minutes at a time a few times throughout the day. My hips are more level-ish. I have been faithfully doing my stretches and am beginning to see good progress. I did still take it QUITE easy. I am so glad I can lay flat and work. I need to keep my mind busy and focused on bc completing a goal and feeling helpful. I go back to PT in the morning at my own request. I want to make sure if my PT lady needs to get in and do another deep tissue massage to get some knots out, that it is done sooner rather than later. I am hoping that since things are loosening up it won’t be as excruciating. I am working on a side project at work. It is kind of fun. I am doing a presentation for Vet Tech students about the do’s and don’ts of writing a resume. I have been collecting real life examples to share. I am working with another coworker on this. Today we met and she gave some great tips to elevate things. I am trying to elevate a boring topic and make it fun, ...

 Results from the mammogram/ultrasound combo- normal. Yay! Probably the most normal thing on me right now. I went to physical therapy today. My PT asked how I was feeling. “Terrible”. That got her attention. We scrapped any form of strengthening exercises. My right leg was longer than the left. My PT was explaining that my muscles are all upset and they are wound up tight. So tight intact, they are pulling my one hip up more than the other. We worked on loosening the muscles. Lots of stretching and half push ups. “Do 20…Do 20 more…cock your leg out to the side….do 20 more.” My triceps were screaming. This is after I had done this at home too. “No more! My muscles are going to rip my shirt they are so big” I understand that I need to do this work to get to the prize at the end…livable back pain. But man, I was dying a little. We discussed that she was never going to even suggest or hint for me to do a plank ever again, or modified plank… or anything that rhymes with plank. She had t...

 I walked outside this morning when it was still dark out. It was quiet, cool and the sky was so clear. The stars were twinkling. So pretty. Today was a gift. Beautiful weather! I walked outside with the dogs and loved how the color of the leaves were bouncing off the sunshine. If everyday was like today I would not complain. I had my mammogram/ breast ultrasound combo today. It was a routine check up, making sure the girls are healthy. I ran into someone I went to high school with. Paul saw his buddy at the colonoscopy place. I run into someone at the breast clinic. This is what life throws your way when you are middle aged? I spent the majority of the day flat on the couch on my ice pack. I got up frequently to let the dogs out and do some exercises and stretches. My hips are still uneven but a sliver of a bit better. I hobbled around the field once to get the dogs their sunshine therapy (and mine too). I am hoping the movement helps. I feel like the tin man with my movements. I ...

 I enjoyed this beautiful, sunny and wonderful fall day from the couch as my alter ego, Flat Patti. I laid on my ice packs and attended and presented at 4 meetings off camera so that my coworkers didn’t have to look at my double chin and see up my nostrils. I am so kind to them. I am feeling a slight bit better from yesterday which tells me I am moving in the right direction. I did get up several times to do my stretches, exercises and motion is lotion movement. But the majority of the day was flat. I did speak with my physical therapist and she thinks that what is happening is a good thing. I sent her a picture of myself all cock-eyed. It was not a flattering picture. I was wearing leggings and a work in the yard type t-shirt.  5 years ago, I would never have done this. The one positive thing age brings us is the ability to give less craps about the stupid stuff. I am not as physically fit as I used to be. I see the lines forming. I have earned those lines. I have survived so...

 Today was a slightly better back day. I was able to stand up long enough to make chili in the crockpot. I did tons of exercises and stretches along with laying on the heating pad. I googled even more stretches to see if I could do more. I sent an email to PT asking what else I can do to try and alleviate the pain and make it so my hips are level. My right leg is about an inch longer than my left leg and I my hips just are crooked. It freaked Paul out when I showed him. “Ewww…why are you standing like that. That looks bad.” He said (lovingly I assume.) It was such a pretty day. I stepped outside this morning and a tree in our yard was so red and striking. I took a picture of it and sent it to Avery because it was so vivid. Avery has been having a hard time over the last week. She is trying to keep up with all her homework and her jobs. She ended up calling off of work today because she was overwhelmed. She was worried she was a failure. I wish she could see what I could see. I see ...

 Today was a really bad back day. A lot of movements I made took my breath away. I laid mostly in the heating pad and sprinkled in lots of stretching. My right hip is now misaligned and is sitting about 2 inches higher than my left hip. My body is telling the muscles to work really hard to bring the one hip level with the other. As the muscles are trying to correct it, in the process they are knotting up and super tense causing waves of intense tightness and pressure on my lower back. Almost a stabbing pain. So that’s been fun. I did get up and move throughout the day but also did my stretches every little bit. Medications aren’t helping or offering relief. My cousin had his Halloween party. We look forward to going every year and it is really fun. Tonight was no different. My costume was of David Michelangelo, the statue. I went for a little bit but my back was screaming at me. I didn’t get to stay that long which sucked, but at least I did get to see some people  I know and ...

 Today I woke up painful. It dawned on me why. My physical therapist wanted me to do planks. I told her I can’t because it always wrecks my back. She convinced me to do standing modified planks. I am pretty sure my back muscles are pissed about it.  It was quite painful. I continued stretching throughout the day. I tried to walk around the field but only made it less than a quarter of the way. Grrrr! This evening I am sleeping with my ice brace on because to help with inflammation (since I can’t take NSAIDS).  Ethan’s buddies came over this evening. They did boy things like ride 4 wheelers and dirt bikes in the field. Then they came in the house and hung out while I was on the heating pad. The conversation was wild and I loved every second of it. I even got to display my 7 th grade humor to an audience that can identify with it.  They were like an episode of South Park. It was so fun to listen to. One of Ethan’s buddies is in town getting the testing done to be a liv...

 The moon was beautiful this morning. I was admiring it on my drive to get the MRI on my back.  When I arrived, they called me back and placed my IV for contrast. They took me to the room where the magic happens. They asked me to climb up on the table.  The table was cold. 🥶 I asked for a blanket. If I was going to be there for a while, I was going to be cozy. The man gave me some headphones and asked me for the genre of music. I asked for classic rock. They rolled me into the tube and the banging and MRI noises started. MRI’s are my favorite medical procedure to have. They don’t hurt. You can nap during them. You get to listen to music. But best of all, at that moment I am not in charge of anything. I was very relaxed afterward. I stumped everyone when I asked how long it would take for the contrast to filter out of my body. I want to donate blood again, but want to make sure my blood is safe to donate. It is still to be determined and I need to call the Red Cross and f...

I have been doing my strengthening exercises multiple times a day. I can already feel a difference. I am sore, but it is from being out of shape. I even sat for about 5 minutes today and was not crippled when I stood up. Progress! I love it! Man my arms are sore from the half push up things I am doing. The elbow I broke 2 months prior to Ethan’s 2020 move to NYC has healed but has a click and needs to be “cracked” frequently prior to continuing. I really am glad that it healed well without much medical intervention. Guess who is never getting on a rip stick again! But they look so fun and easy. We got Moe a new “crate”. It is a bit taller than his current one. He will have a bit more room. This is more like a piece of furniture. I don’t love the color, but it may be a good project to adjust the color when my back feels better. Paul spent the evening putting it together. He is so handy and loves being busy. I don’t even think he minded doing it. He didn’t really love when I pointed out ...

 I was doing my physical therapy pre exercise stretch. OUCH! My leg was so tight. It was painful to stretch. Not the painful that I thought I was doing damage, but the kind of pain that reiterated why I need this. Penny was trying to help. She heard my unattractive grunting and groaning. She heard me Lamaze breathing through the stretch and comforted me by sitting on my chest and putting her but in my face. Thanks dog! I couldn’t even be that mad. She was so excited last night that I put her fleece PJ’s on her and she thinks she is hot stuff! So there she sat, in her pajamas, with her butt in my face. My physical therapist assured me that I would not cause any damage if I do my stretches and exercises the way she showed me. It would be easier not to do them and complain I wasn’t getting better, but I don’t really like that option. I don’t want to become a prisoner in my body. I am fighting back. I am doing the stupid stretches that are painful and you know what? They give me relief...

 I had a day of self care. I didn’t have to work. I gave myself a facial, whitened my teeth, put on my eye lash serum and then felt fancy the rest of the day.  I was supposed to be finishing up working on the camper. I had a headache most of the day and was sore from my work yesterday. I decided it was best for me to go shopping instead. There were a few things I needed to complete our transformation of our den. We are getting new chairs that the pleather isn’t pealing off. They will be far simpler. Not a chair to fall asleep in or anything. I am trying to simplify the house. But it just feels like we have all this stuff. I just want the clutter to be controlled. I went to physical therapy today. I was given strength building exercises. They are things I can handle. If I don’t do them, I will only hurt myself. That is pretty motivating. I am tired of hurting. I am tired of not sitting. I just want my mobility back.  Avery reported that Jiminy is loving the college life. S...

 We woke up and saw there was rain coming for the day. We bailed a day early on our camping trip. We had two really nice days so I am not complaining. I would much rather be home and warm. We started to unpack the camper for the winter. It is a lot of work. I unload all the drawers and cupboards and put everything into bins. I strip the sheets and move all the towels, secure the pillows and more. Batteries need to come out of remotes and everything needs a general cleaning. I did as much as I could being thoughtful of my back and sciatic nerve. I had Paul helping carry things in the house. I picked away at putting things away while doing my sciatic exercises and resting my back. My favorite part of doing so, was finding all the small rubber chickens my cousin Andy hid in my camper. In the freezer, in the koozies, in the soap, in the toothpick box. Everyone I found made me smile! What a silly way to make someone’s day. Each one I found was time he took out of his day to bring me a s...

 Today was sunny and warm. I actually had to put on a t-shirt because I was getting sweaty. The sun was fierce. We were protected from the wind.  The dogs went for a few walks. We snacked all day long and enjoyed an adult beverage or two. My favorite part about camping is that we camp with great company, 99% of the time for the entire season. Paul made a morning fire, which graduated to and all day fire and then evening fire. The temperature dropped quickly as the sun went down to 45. We could see our breath. We finally called it quits at the end of the evening. We packed everything away and prepared for rain. It is supposed to be a rain storm at around 2:00 am.

 I worked from camp today. It was a cool and crisp morning. I was cozy and warm with our little heater pointing at me keeping me very comfortable.  The pups cuddled and looked super cute.  During my lunch break, we took the dogs for a nice long walk. The dogs were Penny, Moe and Ferguson with their camping friends, Bruin and Brad. The 5 dogs had an activity (of walking) together and did very well. Activities are the best getting dogs acquainted. We had a nice campfire, but man was it windy!  I ended up coming inside because my feet hurt from standing all day long!

 This afternoon, as I was outside, I noticed Penny wasn’t being a pain in the ass. I decided to investigate. I found her in the back yard gnawing on something she shouldn’t have been. We also question where she found it? She immediately received a nice dose of hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Well…I was successful and she did vomit! A LOT of garbage she had eaten in the yard. What the heck Penny? She recovered quickly and wanted dinner, but I am letting her stomach settle a little bit. What a pain in the ass! It took me 47 years to see the northern lights. Man, it was worth the wait. While at a campground, we witnessed the most beautiful colors dancing across the sky. The northern lights are caused by an interaction between the magnetic field and the charged particles from the sun. As the color sweeped across the sky, it started as a purple-ish blue and then changed to a red and green. This is the ultimate gift from Mother Nature! Ethan’s last day of his apprenticeship is tomo...

 We are gearing up for our last camping trip of the season.  While I am sad the nice weather is drifting away, I am glad I won’t be subjected to the cold for several weekends on and.  I am not built to survive cold weather. I am a chihuahua, always chilly. I bought myself heated pants a few years back and will be using them on our trip. I charged the battery so they are ready. I would like to spend time away in the winters when I am older, but not Florida. Geesh! Florida is getting spanked. I never want to know or understand the fear of losing my family, my pets, my friends or a house to a  hurricane. I would have totally bailed out of Florida. Avery called today. She is such a cool kid. She was struggling with a decision to purchase an electric teapot. She wanted one, she works and has a cash flow. She has money in the bank, but still was struggling with the decision to purchase one. She felt she would use it daily, but she felt she was being frivolous with her mone...

 Ethan gets lunch from 12:00 -12:30. Today Ethan had an appointment with his psychiatrist at 12:00 PM. I noticed that he also had a therapy appointment at 12:30. That wasn’t going to work with Ethan’s job, so I cancelled it and asked to reschedule. For the psychiatrist appointments, I drove to Ethan’s work so I can be present. I am not present for the therapy appointment, just to chat meds with the psychiatrist. Ethan was prompt at 12:00 and when I went to log in, I noticed at some point today, the psychiatrist and therapist switched times without consulting us. After that happened, I unknowingly cancelled the therapy appointment (didn’t realized they had flip flopped times). This isn’t the first time this has happened. Noon came and went. Once we figured out why no one was meeting with us, Ethan was pretty annoyed. He said he was not going to be present for the appointment and they will “just have to deal”. Such a boy response. I explained to him that this doesn’t just affect him....

  So I found myself on the CDC website researching things to be aware of. Turns out mosquitos carry a couple diseases prevalent there. The more I read, not only is a bug spray going to be a mandatory part of my daily routine, I am ordering some citronella soap too. And maybe citronella oil as well as deet. Some of the illnesses cause flu like symptoms. Also, forward on the beach will be a must for me. I saw that there were cases of hookworms reported. Hookworms like sandy soil and burrow through your feet. No thank you! Crime isn’t bad there. Pick pocketing happens, however, if you travel smart, the thrives stay away. If you stop every so often and pretend you are covered in bugs, thieves think you are crazy and stay away. This is a trick my brother taught me in my teens. Camouflage is illegal as it can be confused with the military’s uniform. Paul will need to get an international driver’s license prior to travel, to be able to rent a car. He will get to experience the backwards d...

Liam got a new job and starts Tuesday. He is moving in with his sister in Buffalo. I think Ethan will miss him, but they will still play their games online together and chat. I am so proud of Liam for making this leap.  He is going to keep his storage unit here for the time being.  Ethan and Paul were talking about the different cars they saw at Apple Festival this morning. It was nice to hear them chatting away at the engine in this car or that car.  I popped by Avery’s work today briefly. I bought the “mashed potato” squash. It’s like acorn squash but not as prevalent. It has more of a potato like flavor. The taste does lean toward potato. It still remains slightly different, but delightful in its own class. I used garlic, onion powder and pepper to season. Yum! I looked up the potassium level in the mashed potato squash. Ethan needs low potassium foods. I was hopeful this could be a good supplement. Unfortunately it is almost triple the potassium than a potato. Ethan w...

 Today I was sore. I think I am getting better though. I am doing my stretching and exercises from physical therapy. This weekend is Apple Fest. It is an huge c levitation in our town that pulls thousands of people from all over the Rochester area. Ethan and his friends took their cars and entered them into the car show there. Paul also went as well. It is a fairly large car show. While they didn’t win any awards, it is an honor to be amongst the other cool cars. We decided to have a campfire last minute. Avery had her suite mates over and that was fun. It got chilly quickly after the sun went down.  We ordered pizza and that was a hit. It was nice to visit with everyone. It was nice having both my kids at the fire. Yay for me. We booked our airline tickets with our friends for our trip next year. We have our housing and airfare set, next up is planning excursions it is really happening! Yay! A great day indeed!

I got a surprise today from my Sarah. She popped by because she was in the area. I loved this! She was catching me up on her life and her kids and it was really a gift! My mom always says she wants the gift of time. She is a smart lady. The gift of time is priceless! Ethan shared that he was able to spend time “on the floor” today at work. His apprenticeship ends soon and he hopes to be hired on as a permanent employee. Soon he will be working on the floor and applying what he has learned. He is interested in growing with this company. The person he worked with today was allowing him to do advanced work on the floor. He was excited by this. I really enjoyed the conversation and excitement in his voice. Later, Ethan went upstairs where we had the windows open. He said the coyotes were out and were making all sorts of noise. He cautioned not to let the dogs out. Ahhhh country life. When he first yelled down to me I thought it was because he smelled a skunk…but he heard the coyotes. Paul ...

Remember Jacob? He was the kid who had his second transplant and it followed the same path as Ethan’s, going terribly wrong. Jacob is learning to walk again. He has minimal use of his fingers after his stroke. He keeps working on gaining movement.  His mom and I have talked regularly as she is trying to encourage him to be self sufficient. He is 17 I believe and wants to be independent like a “regular” kid. He collapsed yesterday in what they thought was a cardiac event, but was actually a seizure. Seizures are scary because the person turns so blue. Purple really. Their eyes are fixed. It is a picture of trauma that burns its way into your brain. This poor kid is 17 and had to endure this. I am so glad he has a loving and supportive family. I have reached out to his mom to offer support. It got me thinking about how when you have a child, you have visions of who they will be when they grow up. Every parent wants a well adjusted kid that can support themselves, have a loving partne...

Our last monarch has started thinning its chrysalis. It’s so cool when you can see the butterfly all wadded up. Will it be a boy or a girl? I think it is so cool when you can see through the chrysalis like that. Science is cool! I had a pleasant day at work. It was fairly quiet and I was able to catch up on some things. Days like this are a blessing. Moe was outside “hunting” things in the garden this afternoon. I kept hearing him pounce and dig at things. Silly dog. He wore himself out. He was so cute, he got to come to bed. He snuggled right in under the covers. We don’t always share our bed. The dogs think it is a big deal when we do. Our fan is still in the window. I knew it was going to be chilly, so I wanted a warm dog in the bed.

A very horrific event happened in our little town yesterday. A family woke up with their twin, 2 year olds unresponsive. One has since passed away and the other is in the hospital. They aren’t sure if the other baby will survive.  These parents have 2 other children at home. I do not know this family. I can’t imagine being in this position. The amount of therapy that will be needed to help this family survive this is unfathomable. I am a little bit sickened at the comments being made by our community with speculation on what happened. I understand curiosity. I would like to know, however, planting your speculation to grow within the community is just not a behavior I would like to engage in. I  am hoping they figure it out soon to make sure no other families are at risk for some environmental factor (although they said it was not carbon monoxide poisoning). I can’t imagine what the parents must be going through.  How did it get to be October already?  My flight home ...