Um...

[mdlbear]

These days I'm used to having to take a deep breath before answering "OK" to a question like "How are you?" When it takes me 20 minutes, I think the answer is "clearly not OK." I'm not sure what it was, last night. Scared, probably.

I'd just gotten home from a good training session, hanging Colleen's IV. Which is OK -- I'm pleased with my progress. But there are so damned many things that can go wrong that I don't know how to handle that it still scares me.

Then my brother called to tell me that Mom had a minor stroke Wednesday evening. Eeep! He hastened to tell me that she's fine; there was little noticable damage and she's recovering quickly, but still... Stroke scares me more than anything else.

I think I'm OK now...

But I'll still need to pause before I say so.

Comments

[mia-mcdavid.livejournal.com]

Oh, hugs, Bear!

[mdlbear]

*hugs* thanks.

[jcbemis.livejournal.com]

*virtual hugs*

[mdlbear]

*hugs* Thanks.

[hms42]

ugh! Glad to hear your mother is OK. Speedy recovery to both of them.

[mdlbear]

Thanks. We're all OK, but we've been dodging a lot of bullets lately.

[lisa-marli.livejournal.com]

*more hugs*
Yeah, I know too much about strokes.
Small ones are more warning signs than anything. I hope her doctors figure out the cause and can prevent any more.
As for Colleen - You think you will forget stuff, but in the long run, you actually don't. If need be, make a check list of the important points. That way when you are feeling like a Bear of Little Brain, you can go over your list. But you have a good logical brain, you'll do fine.

[mdlbear]

It's not a matter of forgetting stuff -- processes seem to be the one thing I'm good at remembering.

It's the exceptions: what to do if any of the possible things goes wrong, what warning signs to watch out for, ... that kind of thing.

[joecoustic.livejournal.com]

Definitely scary! I'm glad all is well though.

*hugs*

[kyrielle]

Yikes. I am glad it was minor and that she's recovering, but still yikes. *offers hugs, if you want them*

[mdlbear]

*hugs*

Thanks!

[wyld-dandelyon.livejournal.com]

There's "good-OK" and "OK considering". I'm glad you're "OK considering" under the circumstances, but hope it upgrades to a better quality OK soon!

[mdlbear]

Thanks. I'm actually still somewhere south of "OK considering", but things seem stable and there's not much I can do at this point.

[brmj.livejournal.com]

Scary. Good thing it wasn't any worse. Hopefully, they will figure out the cause and fix it as quickly as possible, as was previously stated.

[artbeco.livejournal.com]

*hugs*
Hope your mom recovers quickly!!

My last breast cancer surgery required a very long healing process. Paul ended up acting as my surgical nurse, cleaning out and repacking a very deep incision twice daily. The healing process took months and the repacking process was excruciating each time. Paul had to do the whole process for the first few months or more, and it was hard on him. I know he was nervous about screwing it up, and I know he hated having to inflict pain on me. But he did a good job. The whole process became almost routine; I won't say that process ever really got easier until it was almost healed, but it did become familiar. Once I was healed to a certain point I was able to do it for myself, and though it was still excruciating, it was easier in some ways to inflict it upon myself than having someone else do it. Sorry to get off on a tangent, it seemed somewhat relevant because the medical process was complicated and scary for both of us and we got through it...

A written list of steps for Colleen's IV procedure might help; you probably wouldn't need to refer to it but just knowing that you can if you do a brain freeze will help your confidence. And after a week or so you'll be doing it with confidence and a certain amount of ease. Really. :)

*hugs to you and Colleen*

[mdlbear]

Oh, man; we've played that game too. Colleen's second C-section incision opened up as she was getting out of bed to go home; I spent the next don't-remember-how-long doing the same thing Paul did.

I don't have any problem with the routine; that's easy. It's the possible glitches that worry me.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

Maybe a "troubleshooting checklist" with a "problem -> solution" format. Sort of like a cheat sheet for the uncommon issues outside of the process.

[mdlbear]

That would be great. I don't think I'm likely to get one, though.

[ravan.livejournal.com]

{{{Hugs}}}

As we all age, we will keep hearing more and more scary stuff. We cope as best we can, and move forward. It's okay to be upset, sad, annoyed, or scared - it's what makes us human.

[tibicina.livejournal.com]

*sends lots of hugs* I wish there was something I could do to help. Strokes are scary. And that was an extra bit of stress you didn't need on top of everything else.

[mdlbear]

*hug* Thanks!

[firecat]

I hope the universe stops sending you so many scary things at once.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! So do I.

[catsittingstill.livejournal.com]

Waugh!

*hugs*

I hope things get better soon. And that the universe quits dumping on you and your loves.

[mdlbear]

*hugs*

Thanks! It's been a day. The Golden Bough concert should be good, though Colleen will be missed.

[sammyd.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with you. I had a scare myself last night and all day today. Meg with no noticeable blood pressure threw me into a panic. The in home nurse also looked worried when she couldn't find meg's blood pressure or even a pulse in her arms. I posted all the rest of the adventure from the last 28 hours in my LJ.

It's odd that we husbands are doing some of the medical stuff I always associated with doctors and nurses doing. I am very afraid I am going to miss something or do something wrong and possibly lose meg in the process. So far I have been lucky. But I don't want to have to rely on luck.

I hope all goes smoothly with you and your wife's situation. Give her a hug for us.

[mdlbear]

Thanks! Saw your post -- that must have been scary.

Same here - well, we said "in sickness and in health"...

[sammyd.livejournal.com]

"Til death do us part" I hadn't planned on the death part being my demise because I couldn't keep up. sigh...

The other day I used an expensive drain bottle like I'm supposed to. Unfortunately, this expensive bottle is supposed to have a vacuum in it to facilitate the draining. This one didn't, it was a dud. double sigh...

[roaringmouse.livejournal.com]

Breathe,Steve... It will be okay.

[mdlbear]

Some things will, anyway. Thanks.