bee and rose

"Did You Know" Tuesday has returned! And away we go! Did You Know.... that mild mannered Bee (that would be me...) yelled at a nurse when she didn't come to check on Chilly for OVER 6 HOURS??? Did you know that this same nurse said to me that if my husband needed her, he should have pressed the nurse call button? Did you know that when I said he was unable to do so because he had a stroke and heart attack, that Nursey McNasty smirked and said "well, can't he use his good arm?" (Uh, let's review...Would that be the arm that he was having the blood transfusion in or the one he was unable to use because of the stroke?) Oh, yes..she actually said that to me...BIG MISTAKE... Had I not been there during those 6 hours, Chilly would have aspirated multiple times due to his severe nausea, would not have had any liquids or would have been unable to go to the restroom. His blood sugars also dropped dangerously low. I was able to find a PCT nurse to help with t

We are home....now a new journey lies before us. Over the last ten days, I have been told that Chilly's prognosis is very poor. It's highly unlikely he will survive the next two years. (The manner in which that news was delivered to me is a blogpost in itself...) His heart, kidneys and brain are just deteriorating too rapidly for his body to continue on much beyond that. I, however, have seen Chilly cheat death on many occasions. I am holding on to hope that he will this time as well. I am overwhelmed with emotion when I read all of your very loving and supportive comments. They were a lifeline to me and my children during the last ten days. Thank you from the very bottom of my truly grateful heart. In a few brief seconds, our lives irrevocably changed on Friday, August 14. That's all it took for the stroke to occur and set the heart attack in motion as well. We are savoring every second we have together as a family. The likelihood of another stroke is incredibl

(from Young Frankenstein...a family favorite) Just wanted to quickly update Chilly's condition.... He's still in the hospital. He's out of ICU and in a step down unit. We are now dealing with brain swelling that is causing him pretty severe nausea and vertigo. He is unable to keep food down with any success. On the upside, his kidney function is much improved. His blood sugars seem to be in control. Those are steps in the right direction. His heart function is still poor. The doctors are watching him very closely, but are unable to run tests because of the extreme nausea. Those will come later. It's going to be a very long road to rehabilitation. Chilly's stroke was in the cerebellum so his motor skills on the left side were impacted. He's unable to walk right now. He has facial numbness on the left side. He suffers from some pretty severe tremors all along his left side. His left arm is a bit wonky.

I hate this disease with a passion...more on that in a moment... First and foremost, there aren't enough words in the English language to convey my most sincere gratitude for the amazing love and support you've all shared with my family. I am completely overwhelmed and very humbled by it all. I've shared all of your comments and emails with Chilly and the kiddos. It has meant so much to us! Thank you, thank you and thank you again! I wish I could write that Chilly is fine and coming home tomorrow. I wish I could go back to last Friday when every fiber of my being was screaming at me that Chilly was having a heart attack. I wish I would have pinned him to the ground and shoved an aspirin down his throat when he put me off about his symptoms. I wish he would have agreed to go to the ER...Sadly, I can't turn back time... We were told today that Chilly has suffered a stroke in addition to a heart attack. These two events occured together...meaning, he had the stroke

Hi Everyone... Chilly is in the hospital this evening in Intensive Care. It appears that he has suffered another heart attack. They are still waiting for tests to come back. He is having some emergency procedures done first thing in the morning as his blood sugars were too high today to do them safely. His bypass grafts may be failing, and he is probably suffering from heart failure as a result. I won't have any clear answers until morning. I would be most grateful for any prayers you could share with my family...especially for my children. Please excuse any typos or poor grammar as I have to type this with one hand because of the broken middle finger. Chilly was very amused that it's "that" finger, of course. He laughs every time he looks at it. At least it made him smile today...maybe that's why I broke it....for his amusement while in the hospital...anything for my sweet Chilly! I will post again when I have more information. Thanks in advance for al

Happy Monday! First, please accept my sincere apologies for my poor bloggy visiting skills. I broke my finger (my middle finger..lol!) and my hand is wrapped and finger is splinted. I can't type with any speed whatsoever! I am typing this with my good hand and I'm hoping to finish it by, oh...I don't know...maybe by this evening? I hope to be back to my regular blogstalking by Thursday. Thanks for understanding! xoxo dawn

Hooray! It's Friday! Time for Fragments Fun and a Dear So and So bonanza! Join the Friday Fragments Fun over at Half Past Kissin' Time ! Also, join the ever delightful Kat, over at "3 Bedroom Bungalow!" for more Dear So and So" fun! Dear Future Groom of Irish Dancer Girl, My prayers are with you...just sayin'.... Wishing you tons of patience and hoping your bank account is LARGE, Your loving future M-I-L... ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Chilly, For you....courtesy of the Ministry of Homeland Security... Don't say I didn't warn you, The Woman Who Will Go Kung Fu on Your Booty if She Doesn't Have Some Chocolate ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Dear Blood Pressure, Thank you for being 117/72 this morning. My heart is grateful. I know yoga and happy thoughts are keeping you this way. I love you, Your biggest fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ***Cat wanders by the computer while I'm googling info on the Perseid meteor shower. She asks me what I'm doing...I tell her I want to

It's Tuesday! At the Bee and Rose that means it's time for "Did You Know?"...bits of this and that from my cluttered mind. (cluttered...not dirty...sorry, Chilly...) And we're off...(it's short and sweet today!) Did You Know... that the ever fabulous DiPaola Momma over at Chicken Nuggets of Wisdom has the chance to get her lovely face on a box of Honeynut Cheerios?? Isn't that cool?! She has a fantastic opportunity to help fight hunger in our communities through an awesome campaign via ShopRite. ShopRite has created “Blog It Forward To Fight Hunger” to get people involved in the fight against hunger through blogging. All she needs is a bit of comment lovin'! How easy is that?! Go HERE for more exciting details! Did You Know. ... that by visiting this awesome blogger... you can help a family in need today? Just click on the picture and it will take you right over. I will be over there today bidding on items in a wonderful auction that Shann

--> Thirteen years ago today, I was awakened at 3:00 am by both of my grandmothers pestering me in a dream. They were insisting that I get out of bed and go straight to t he ladies room…IMMEDIATELY…They kept telling me that my brand new mattress was about to be horribly ruined if I didn’t get up RIGHT NOW. A nnoyed that my dream~visiting grandmothers wouldn’t leave me alone, I got up, went to the bathroom and my water broke...hand to God..true story...(Thanks for the heads up on the mattress, Grandmas!) Fast forward twelve hours to 3:30 pm…I’m ready to have my baby and BAM! The power goes out in 10 states! No kidding! Uh, hello!? What happened to that nice epidural drip!? Ahhh, thank you, generator, for turning my epidural drip back on! Finally, straight up at 5:00 pm, my first child was born. I'd like to thank the hospital for having a soda fountain right outside my room...this kept Chilly entertained all through my labor (as well a

Just returned from a brunch outing courtesy of Chilly....(which was delicious, thank you very much,..although it was a wee bit disgusting when you returned to the table with breakfast fare and a SALAD, Chilly....GACK! I realize after 14 years, I should be used to this, but not so much!) Had some interesting brunch conversation.... Mommy : "Almost Teen Caveboy, I can totally picture you rockin' the surgeon scrubs and saving lives. That's very cool!" Irish Dancer Girl : "And I can totally see me using my princess camera to take a picture of you in the nurses room." (WHAT???) Almost Teen Caveboy chokes on his beverage and wants to offer up his sister for sale...."Can you list her on ebay this week?" ~~~~~~~~~ Fast forward to parking lot...Mommy...busy buckling in the Irish dancer girl...Almost Teen Caveboy...prepping his iPod for the trip home....a normal All American family moment...or is it??? Suddenly, Chilly yells out from the driver's s

(Join the weekend Wordle fun over at Last Shreds of Sanity !) Vogue Photo Shoot of Keira Knightley as Dorothy Gale Cyclone! Follow the Yellow Brick Road Great and Powerful Oz Flying Monkeys Ding Dong the Witch is Dead Home Do you think this vision of OZ is cool or creepy? Have a great weekend! xoxo!