Home Again for FNSI

 We've been home about 2 weeks now and I've had my hands full, to say the least.   (For those of you new to the blog or who've been away since the last one, check back HERE for full details)

Mr B was recovering slowly as his diabetes was not well managed prior to the heart attack, which the diabetes specialist informs us was the cause of his heart issues.....not poor eating habits, but poor general follow-up by his gp with medicines and blood tests and a lack of knowledge on our part which resulted in a natural progression of the disease.  If only we had a time machine!  I definitely would be more in charge of learning about our health rather than just relying on the gp to keep on top of it!  Don't get me wrong, our gp is wonderful, but we weren't aware of the blood tests we needed to get and medicines that were available to counteract issues Mr B was having....living in a rural town certainly has its downfalls with medical interventions for preventable diseases.

We spent four weeks in hospital, having had a fall (as he forgot he was attached to a blood pressure machine and oxygen and took a dive on his shoulder and whacked his head after getting up to go to the bathroom!),  having two blood transfusions and then, after contracting an infection in his arm wound (where they took one of the veins for his bypasses) and then having high-dose antibiotics intravenously to kill the bacteria.  Mr B was climbing the walls!

Fast forward to now and we are managing medications, we've perfected the art of injecting insulin, and our walks are getting longer and longer each day!  AND we're extremely thankful for prayers and positive thoughts....I'm convinced that got him through so I get to enjoy his company for a lot longer!

Now onto our topic at hand.....this week is our FNSI....I've been doing lots of stitching but not getting much finished so maybe that's what I'll be working on.  What about you?

Big sugary hugs  xox  :o)

 

FNSI brought to you from ICU

I’ll be hosting FNSI from afar this month.....well, only an hour away from home but in ICU.  Not me, I’ll be the visitor, but Mr B has had a big scare  that’s thrown the biggest curve ball to us that we’ve ever had to face.

A week and a half ago,  Mr B was complaining of not being able to catch his breath when he was lying down to sleep so had not had much sleep for 3 nights.   On the second night he mentioned he had a bit of a whistle when he breathed so we monitored it.  He also mentioned he had no energy to walk from his car to his workplace during the day, he was very lethargic. On the third morning he woke up not feeling well at all and his chest was rattling.  I thought he had the beginnings of pneumonia so convinced him (after much “discussion”) it would be a good idea to go tho the emergency department of our local hospital.   

When we got there and explained what the problem was, the took us in and within minutes of checking him over, had monitors and all sorts of tests and xrays happening.   They thought he had either a blood clot in his lung or had had a heart attack but Mr B hadn’t had any pain or symptoms of a heart attack.   After a trip in the ambulance to the radiology department for a ct scan, They discovered his heart was in fact damaged, and his right lung was filling with fluid as his heart was struggling.  They informed us he had in fact, had a silent heart attack.  We’d never heard of one before and as there were no symptoms, other than afterwards with lethargy and difficulty breathing, it appears he had his about 3 days prior, at work, whilst he continued about his job driving heavy machinery.  Mr B drives a dozer clearing scrub timber on a cattle property so works by himself all day away from anyone else, often out of phone range so you can imagine my panic.

By late afternoon, we were travelling to Townsville, an hour away, by ambulance to a much larger hospital with cardiac specialists at hand.   He was booked in for an angiogram last Monday, where they planned to put a stent in if at all possible.   Well, Mr B being Mr B had to be a little more difficult than straightforward didn’t he?   He was booked for open heart surgery Monday this week  as it seemed he had five or six blocked arteries that needed bypass grafts.  We did a tour of ICU on Sunday night so we knew what to expect when he returned from surgery as he was to stay there for one or two days till he was well enough to return to a hospital room.  His surgery was booked for 12pm Monday and the surgeon rang me at 5 pm saying he was out and everything went well, although it was more extensive than they thought....he had to have SEVEN bypass grafts....unheard of!    

I didn’t post FNSI yesterday as you can say I was a little preoccupied!   But so far so good.   Despite having difficulties overnight with maintaining his blood pressure, which they had to struggle to maintain with medications, he made it through.   He was still intubated this morning and anesthetised so they could stabilise him but by afternoon the tube had been removed and he was breathing through nasal tubes to keep his lungs inflated and to avoid further complications like pneumonia.    To say he’s out of the woods would be optimistic, but he has made progress and they are expecting he will spend another two days in ICU recovering where he will wake properly and walk around to promote healing.  As they keep reminding me, it was a MAJOR operation, one of which the experienced nurses of 30 years  had not seen before, six yes but seven......never!   So my hubby is a bit of hard work at the moment, but worth every second in my opinion.    And being 61 years old, he’s considered a youngster in the cardiac care unit, so he has a lot of life to look forward to.  I’ll have me a new husband, Mr B 2.0!

To think, two weeks ago, we were planning a long needed weekend away with my son and his girlfriend but that has been postponed for quite a while now.   I’m just thanking the Lord that I still have this special man still in my life and treasuring every moment we get.  I won’t be taking any of it for granted anymore!   

So you now can see where I’m coming from when I say this week I’ll be hosting FNSI from ICU.   Join me in celebrating my new and improved model! 

Sign ups below, and if your the praying kind, like me.....your prayers are very much appreciated.  If not, thoughts and loving wishes of health and a speedy recovery are just as appreciated. It’s times like these you realise how precious family and friends are and how Quickly our routines can be changed forever. 

Always Remember to tell your loved ones how precious they are

Love to  you all and sugary hugs xox :o)

FNSI already?

August sign ups are ready below and we all know we need a bit of girlfriend time in these wicked days of Corona and lockdowns, don’t we?   

 I can’t really complain....we’re pretty ok in Queensland and the worst we have to do is wash hands regularly (who didn’t do that before?), sneeze or cough into our elbows and keep a social distance of 1.5 metres. Our poor Victorian neighbours are in complete lockdown yet again and they’re almost forgetting what life pre-COVID was like. 

 So it’s important to get together once a month (or twice if you join in with Cheryll), and forget what’s happening in the world around us,  join with our likeminded friends and stitch our cares away! 

Join with us by signing up below with your details and we’ll see you Friday night! 

XO Sugary hugs :o) 

It’s time....FNSI and a little scare!

Well hasn’t this one crept up?  Can’t believe it’s time already ... but I did have a bit of a turn at work Tuesday of last week that’s thrown me into a time spin.
Let’s just say two ambulances, 3 paramedics, 2 police officers caused a bit of excitement, but still,  not a partridge in a pear tree in sight (or none that I remember)!

I did get a special trip to the hospital after passing out numerous times and vomiting for no apparent reason just out of the blue. My blood pressure was recorded at 80/50 but after numerous tests at the hospital, everything was normal.

I went home and rested for a few days, I was extremely tired and lethargic but by Sunday I felt almost normal again, apart from the fact I forget the occasional word here and there.

I’m off for a brain scan, inner ear scan and ultrasound of my carotid artery next week to make sure there’s no nasties going on. Plus a number of blood tests have to be taken so surely if anything is out of whack they’ll see it. I’m confident I’ll be ok with whatever happens so in the meantime, how about joining me on Friday night for our monthly stitch in??

Just sign up below and I’ll see you in a Friday Night!  

Sugary hugs xox :o)

An End to Pain for FNSI

Yes it's June already and it's the third week so it's time for FNSI sign ups!

I know I promised myself this year I'd be more attentive to my blog and blogging family, and it's been bugging me as I've been slacker instead of better.  I thought it may have something to do with CV-19 or maybe being too busy with work but I think I've finally figured it out.  

Blogging has become quite a chore for me...…. because of my glasses!  

Why would glasses affect my blogging you might ask?    Since I turned 45 ( a good 10 years ago now....even though it feels like yesterday!) my eyes have deteriorated such that I need to wear glasses all day every day, not just for reading.  So, that means my glasses have progressive lenses and have had from the very start.  

This has been great for me as I have had no problem adjusting to them and no problem wearing them.  Transitioning my view from driving to sewing to watching tv to looking at the stars hasn't been a problem, however I have been suffering from a progressively worsening neck and shoulder issue which leaves me with constant inflammation and pain from headaches and backaches and I become really irritable.  I don't want to become 'one of those wives' who whinges and whines, nor one who pops pills constantly for pain, but I'm finding that's becoming more the norm.

I've been thinking more and more about it lately and I've discovered that it worsens when I'm on my computer......because when I look at the screen, I have to tilt my head back slightly to get the right angle to see clearly through the bottom half of my lenses!  Now this seems like an obvious thing, but the tilt was ever so slight I didn't even notice it for almost forever however, now when I tilt, I feel the grinding of bones and pinching of nerves.......it's fun getting older isn't it ??!?!

Now that I've figured it out in the last couple of weeks (to say I'm a slow learner is an understatement!), I've tried raising my moniter, raising my chair, moving my glasses , all to no avail,or only slightly (raising my chair today has helped considerably but it's still not quite enough unless my head hits the ceiling!), so I think my next port of call is the optometrists to see if I can get a pair of 'readers only'.   If that works,  I can use them for my computer work and blogging and reaquaint myself with my love without pain and get back to my bloggy friends without being a whingy, whiney, drugged-up mess!

Hopefully this is the start of a better second half of the year, as soon as I can get an appointment and hopefully some relief.

Back to it for this month, it's our FNSI this Friday night.  I'd love for you to join us, just sign up, using your blog, instagram or facebook links, or any way we can stop by and see what you've been up to.   Remember to start with www.http://   then your web address......that will get us to your house!

Looking forward to stitching up a storm with you this Friday night!

xox  Sugary sweet hugs :o)

Fnsi sign ups during these weird times!

never mind what day of the week it is......what WEEK is it!???
Im so confused!  Thanks to Maria for reminding me!

here goes, without me wasting any more time .....  you know what to do.....*wink*

xox Sugary hugs :o)

Celebrating Mother's Day at Home

I've left it a little late this year, so I thought some quick Mother's Day gifts from my friend Matt
might help us all out a bit....

over to you Matt!

Mother’s Day is on Sunday, and this year it will undoubtedly be different.

There will be no large picnics in the park, open buffet cases at brunch or matinees at the movie theatre.

You’ll likely have to celebrate at home. 

To help you do that, Wikibuy created some fun Mother’s Day decorations and activity printables

to spice the day up and celebrate Mom.

Gratitude Door Hangers 

Moms don’t often get enough credit for all that they do. Now’s the time to change that!

Print off these door hangers and write a message of thanks or love on each one.

Hang them on as many door knobs as you have in your house and show Mom some love. 

Memory Photo Banner 

This craft makes use of old Polaroids or other photos lying around the house.

Gather up your old memories, write a special message about each one and hang them up on the wall

with a piece of string and some clothespins. 

(*post edit: wendy here!......These would even look particularly great and long-lasting printed on fabric don't you think!?)

Mom Baking Placemats 

While you’re spending a lot of time indoors on Sunday, you might feel the urge to bake.

After your sweet treats come out of the oven, place them on one of these placemats that have uplifting

Mother’s Day messages. (If you’re not celebrating Mother’s Day in person, bake some treats,

take a picture of the placemat and post it to Mom’s social media pages!) 

*post edit:(Wendy again!!! What do you think about printing these on fabric and bordering them in Mum's favourite fabric picks????? *wink wink*)

Mom Trivia

From her least favorite smell to a time she met someone famous or her first kiss, learn more about Mom

with these trivia activities. They’re also perfect to play over video chat and will surely lead to an

interesting story time! 

I hope you're staying safe and finding something to smile about during these scary times.

Thanks,

Matt.

I think I'm going to try a couple of these for Mother's day this year.  Particularly the last one.  I've found with losing older family members it's really great to be able to have some 'history' to the family and it's too late (or really difficult!) once they've passed.

I hope you enjoyed our special guest post today and if you pop over to check some of these out, say Hi to Matt for me!?

Take care and.......

xox  big smooshy sugary hugs from me! :o)