Low Blood Count?

As you know, I visited Mom last night. She looked good, but was tired. While I was there, she was able to get her hair shampooed and styled by a hair dresser, this required a lot of getting up and down. In and out of her wheel chair. Her hair looked real nice when Heather, hair dresser, finished it. She ate most of her supper, but her appetite is still improving daily. Her nurse came in and told us that Mom's blood level was low and that they will be giving her 3 units of blood today. I guess I was stunned to hear this because I thought she said they were taking 3 viles for testing. Go figure! I didn't even ask why. I'm a good daughter. Am I not? I'm learning, so don't give up on me. Today, Maryann and I learned more as the day progressed. Mom's blood count was very low because her doctor decided to go ahead and give her 3 unit of blood. Dr. Stewart seems to think that the blood loss is from a possible stomach ulcer. To be on the safe side, she wants a colonoscopy and upper GI done on Mom. She is scheduled to do this on Friday, Lord willing. Mom wasn't too thrilled to find out this information. She was so hoping to be able to come home Friday. Apparently, Dr. Stewart told Mom awhile back that if she reached her goal that she might be able to come home this Friday. No such luck, but that's okay. Honestly, I don't think she is well enough to come home right now. She is just now getting to where she can barely stand up with assistance. She did get to walk a little yesterday and approximately 20 feet (according to Dad) today with a walker. Dr. Stewart said that as soon as Mom receives these 3 units of blood, she should start acting a little more refreshed and energetic than before. We've been kind of concerned with her being so tired, so maybe it's been because of the blood count being low. Who knows?

Dad and Ralph went to SC to get some dentures made for themselves. They got their new teeth today and Dad said that they fit just perfect. They wanted to stay an extra day in SC to make sure their teeth were going to work before they left to come home, but the rehab center had to call Dad. They told him about Mom's blood count being low and how they needed his consent for her to receive the blood and further tests on Friday. Of course, he was upset and the next thing we knew, he was home. I'm to meet him tomorrow and we are going to the rehab center together for Mom. We are so hoping that there won't be any big problems. Based on the past three-four months just when Mom is about to get out of the woods, there's another forest she has to over come. I know there are so many prayers being lifted for Mom, but I just ask you to please continue. Thanks!

Katie and I went with Maryann today to her doctor's appointment. They let Katie and myself go in the back and see Maryann's burns. Her left arm looks real good. It looks like she got a bad sun burn, but the right arm is still bad in some places (brown spots). She has some scar tissue, but hopefully Dr. Seidel will be able to help her with that problem. The waiting room in this doctor's office is pretty cool because there is a big salt water aquarium in the middle of it. Katie had a blast watching the fish swimming around. Right off the bat, we had to find Dory & Nemo. I have to say, it was a great babysitter because it entertained her for a long time. Honestly, I didn't think this day was going to happen because Katie woke up in a bad mood (around 6:30 crying). Ugh! I let her watch her cartoons while I finished getting ready because we had to be at Maryann's by 7:30 or at least I thought we did. I didn't know if Natalie was going to be able to have time to fix Maryann's hair and I wanted to be there in plenty of time. I had to force Katie's clothes on her body, pull her hair up in a pony tail (she is still crying) and push her out the door (still crying). I thought by the time we got to Maryann's that she would wake up and get in a better mood. Luckily, Maryann understood having been through it with three children. Right when it was time to leave for the doctor's appointment, Katie was finally getting in a good mood. I was trying to carry bags on my shoulder, open the door for Maryann & Katie. When the car door opened, barely catching Katie on the side of the head. Ugh! This wasn't going to be my day. I just put everything on the ground to grab Katie. I barely bumped her on the side of her head, but I'm sure it still hurt like heck. Poor baby. I finally got her calmed down enough to get her in the car. Of course, she tells me that she wants me to hold her. Ugh! She got to feeling better by the time we got to the doctor's office. Thank goodness! After the doctor's visit, we dropped Maryann off at the hospital for her whirlpool therapy. Bless her heart. She said this afternoon that they picked the skin up underneath her nails, where it's tender. She said she nearly lost it. WARNING FOR ALL OF YOU: When your skillet catches on fire, don't be brave because it's not worth it. Grab the Baking Soda, fire extinguisher, get out of the house or call the fire department. For goodness gracious, don't grab the skillet and head for the door. I consider Maryann a very strong woman, but this has really messed her up.

Katie has a new sentence or word (I guess). It doesn't matter if you're asking her a question or telling her to do something the response will be "I need two." Are you ready for your tubby? She'll say, "Yeah, I need two mermaids." Let's go to bed. Her response is "okay, I want two stories." Do you want a stuffed animal or doll to sleep with? Her response, "Uh, huh! I need two dolls." The magic number is TWO! She is also a miss mother. She'll ask you (out of the blue) if you are alright. "Do you need to go to the hospital?" "You get some medicine and feel better. Alright?" If you sneeze. She'll say, "You'll be alright, okay Mommy." If you tell her that you won't be alright, she'll want to argue with you. She'll say, "Yeah, you're alright." The more you argue, the louder she gets. Hard head! Where does she get it from?

Katie has really enjoyed the new TV in her room. We've started a very bad habit, but it seems so easy. She wants to watch movies in her room, while we watch our shows like "American Idol", "House", "Seinfield." If she doesn't like what we are watching, she'll ask if she can watch one of her movies in her bedroom. Of course, while she's back there, she'll want something to eat and drink. I can still bribe her with the TV, so she'll eat her supper. It works! Doug said when we give the girls the 31" and ready to put our 27" back in our bedroom, we'll have to look into getting Katie a small TV for her room. If we do this, I'm afraid we are going to have to set some ground rules. Right now since this is a temporary situation, there are no rules. If it seems to get carried away, I'll have to revisit the situation.

We had to go by the Library today to drop off some books and a "Strawberry Shortcake" video. I believe she got some good books this time and they had a "Barbie Fairytopia" movie to be checked out. When I showed it to Katie, she had a fit. As soon as we got home, she asked to watch it. She watched it twice today. Tonight, I read "Butterfly Kisses" to Katie. The book is based on Bob Carlisle's song "Butterfly Kisses." If you haven't read it, it's about a Daddy and his baby girl and what they mean to one another. I got teary eyed a couple of times while reading it to her. I might have to eventually buy this book for her to keep, so sweet.

Speaking of getting teary eyed. How about the American Idol results? I have to say, Ramiele hasn't shined in the past few weeks, not like she did in the beginning. I still think she is a good singer. I just felt so sorry for her. I guess because it's getting harder because we are slowly getting down to the wire. I think she'll do great after the AI tour. What about David Cook? They said it was because of high blood pressure, I hope he's alright. Doug was surprised that American Idol let Dolly Pardon sing that song. Personally, I thought it was a pretty song.

Doug TiVo'd "Hell's Kitchen" for me. We got to watch it tonight before "American Idol" started. Oh my gosh! I can already tell this is going to be a good season because you've got all kinds of people that think they are better then everyone else and at times better than Chef Ramsey. A 30 year guy came on with this 2 foot tall chef's hat. So funny! He said that he likes to wear it because he is 5'5" without the hat and if he looks taller than he'll be more intimidating to the other opponents. Gordon Ramsey chewed him up and spit him out, it was great. Do you think I have a weird sense of humor? Yeah, me too! tehe!