wow, been a long time since i have been in my blog! not that i have not had things going on, or things to say. i had to work the whole week of Christmas, and our family Christmas was the weekend before Christmas. i had the entire family, including two grandsons- one only 3 months old, at my house. it was heaven! nothing like a full house, with the fire going in the kitchen fireplace, soup on the stove, and plenty of noise in the house! our two year old grandson was so excited this year- he understood a little bit more of what was going on. my husband and i were at his house right after our son and daughter-in-law put up their Christmas tree. just to see the wonder and awe on his face as he looked at the Christmas tree and showed " meme and granddad" his special train ornament- which was just outside of his reach( for a reason!) was very special. seeing things- events, holidays through the eyes of a child is just the best. it reminds me of my distant childhood, and rekindles some of the excitement of the holiday.
at thanksgiving this year, i got to deal with my first kidney stone. wow, was that something! i also had all of my children/grandchildren here for the holiday. i took a big dose of ibuprofen, and went on. i finally had to see the doctor the monday after thanksgiving and he did a cat scan. he showed me the stone on the xray. boy, for something so little, it sure did hurt! i decided to try to pass it on my own, instead of going into the hospital for the procedure, which takes a day. there is also a stent the doctor would have to put in that would stay in for a week or two. i was not sure i could deal with that. the doctor said that i had a good chance of passing it on my own, since i was 2/3 of the way there. i had read that exercise and sour lemonade were very good for that sort of thing. i went to zumba and tried to dance the stone out! in fact, i danced so hard that i pulled a tendon or ligament behind one knee. but you know what, i think it worked! i have a return visit to the doctor on january 10th, and i guess we will figure it out then. i had two days(after the zumba classes,and the gallons of sour lemonade ) where i felt pretty bad, and was sort of confident that i had passed it, but did know know for sure. i named my kidney stone, since i had had it for so long, shirley D. stone. the " D" stands for what you might think it would stand for. so shirley made a grand entrance, but a rather subdued exit, i think.
one thing that i wondered about, was at the exact time i was dealing with my kidney stone, my salivary stones acted up again. my jaws swelled- my husband could see the swelling, and they were painful. the sour lemonade is good for that,too, as is the ibuprofen. and believe it or not, so is zumba! when i had a really bad go of things with my salivary stones- two years ago, or so, i noticed that in zumba class the stones actually broke up and i could feel them. not to be too gross here, but my mouth filled up with what seemed like water. that is the only time that that has happened. usually, and this time, the swelling and pain will eventually go away after a few days drinking the sour lemonade and taking the ibuprofen. what i was curious about, are these two "stone events" related? the doctors say no, but i am not so sure. it seems like too much of a coincidence to me. i am curious if anyone out there has experienced both of these events,too.
one thing i do know though, is that i will have to drink sour lemonade for the rest of my life, i think. i had stopped( did that cause my stones to form?) for a while. but by golly i will not stop again! salivary stones are painful enough, but shirley D. stone was a very, very bad girl! my knee is finally feeling better, and i hope to return to zumba this coming saturday. i need it for my mental health,too. my husband will confirm this, bless his heart! probably my co-workers will as well.
i hope that everyone out there had a wonderful holiday season- which ever holiday you might celebrate. as a cancer survivor, i think that one appreciates every single time our families get together in joy and celebration. the being together is the best part, and i appreciate the fact that i am here and can take part in the family traditions.
