Hello and a Health Update

Hello, My Sweet Friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, a great New Year, and soon will have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Thank you to all of you who have not forgotten me!  Thank you for your prayers while I've been tackling these medical issues for so long.  With such a long break because of my health, it means a lot to see that you've been coming to my blog, even if I haven't been here to greet you.  

First, let's get the medical stuff out of the way.  I'm going to keep this part as short as possible, because it's all boring stuff, anyway.  I had my third and final surgery on my right knee on December 22nd.  This was with a different doctor because the doctor who did my left knee had been sick and in the hospital himself.  Let's just say, I would have preferred the first doctor because he actually learned my history and took care of me accordingly.  He also put ice on my knee before I had even woke up and I think that helped a lot.  The surgery went well.  Recovery was a bear.  Just like with the left knee, I had to wait until my right knee really healed from the surgery because I couldn't walk that "wrong" without my back freaking out.  I had muscle spasms in my calf muscle and my back this time.  If you've never had a muscle spasm, stop reading this and thank God right now.  They are horribly painful.  I was able to do exercises in bed for my knee and leg but they didn't stop the muscle spasms.  It took a good 5 weeks for me to be able to start walking.   I started trying 3 days after surgery and lots of other times in between, but my body just wouldn't cooperate.  During that time, the rest of my body continued to get weaker.  I've spent the majority of the time from the middle of September 2015 until January 2016 in bed, plus the years of getting weaker because of my back before that, so as you can imagine, I'm pretty pathetic right now.

Starting last week, every other day, I go down the stairs, walk with my walker, sit up for a couple of hours. and then come back upstairs.  It sounds like nothing but for me, it's major work.  I thought my muscles were getting stronger, but then tonight it was super hard again.  On the off days, I still walk around but it's not nearly as strenuous as the "downstairs" days.  I have to make a lot of progress to get to the point of going to physical therapy.  I'm scared to go while I am this weak since I told the last therapist how weak I was with every question I answered, she didn't take that into consideration and I spent five weeks in bed trying to recover from the damage she had done.

As for stamping, I've tried to make some cards but they did not look good.  My gift was a set of Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.  They were a thoughtful gift because you can use them in bed, however I just can't get the hang of them.  I even tried to make a wiener dog card but it didn't work.  You know it's got to be bad when I can't make a wiener dog card work!

I was going to do Kathy Racoosin's 30 Day Coloring Challenge this month, but on Feb. 1, I was in too much pain, even to color a little bit.  Then, I wanted to participate in PaperTrey Ink's 9th Year Celebration, but I haven't been able to pull of a card for it, either.  (I knew about them but have become a big fan over the last 5 months or so.  Christmas money and ebay finds have given me some awesome new stamps!)  However, I do have something really sad to admit.  I can't remember how to use my Copic Markers.  That's what happens when you don't get to color since this past August and you're on pain meds that are reserved for end stage cancer patients and people like me.  I've given up trying to color a card for PTI, so if one magically appears on my blog, it will have to be made from solid image stamps.  I told you it was sad!!

One other really sad thing happened during this time away.  I gave Frank pink eye.
Yes.  You read that right.  I gave Frank pink eye.

I had such a bad sinus infection that I gave myself pink eye.  You can develop it on your own.  You don't have to be exposed.  Each night, Frank (pre-pink eye) gave me kisses on the cheek to say good night.  While I was coming down with pink eye, apparently he licked too close to my eye.  One day I came down with it.  The next day, Frank had to go to the vet because he had it, too.  You don't really know what it's like to be a total looser until you give your poor, sweet wiener dog pink eye!  Thankfully, he got very good at letting my parents put medicine in both of his eyes since technically we both had pink eyes.  Now we both have dry eyes and need drops for those.  Thankfully, other than what I gave him, Frank is still doing well.  I, on the other hand, truly embody the phrase "If it's not one thing, it's something else."  Although, technically my phrase would be
"There's ten things wrong.  Nope.  Wait.  Now there's eleven things wrong."

Please say a prayer for me that I can keep building up strength.  Please pray that I can get my hands to produce the cards my brain sees.  I need that hobby to focus on again as it takes my mind off of everything else going on right now.  

Happy Stamping to Each and Every One of You!!