Frustrated..

My grandmother has a cough. She has had one for about 5 years now. It’s not like a smokers cough or that. She describes it as something tickling her throat, it makes her cough and she cannot stop even to breathe and often times almost passes out. The only way it will stop is if she takes a drink of water which she can’t do a lot of the time due to the coughing. Once she has been able to get the water in though, it clears up a bit.

Over the past 5 years she has been to see over a dozen doctors from Thunder Bay all the way to Winnepeg. She’s had blood tests, physicals and consults. First they thought it was asthma so they put her on nebulizers, then they thought it was an infection so they put her on antibiotics, then they took her off the asthma meds and thought it was heart burn so they put her on Pariet. She went to see a cardiologist who did an exercise stress test which showed nothing abnormal. They put her back on the asthma meds, then thought it was pneumonia so she was in the hospital then she was back on asthma meds. All for the same thing: A cough which starts from something in her throat. You’d think she’d have been sent for a gastroscopy/bronchoscopy, but no one has sent her for one.

My grandparents are old school patients. You do not question the doctor. Even if you have a concern about another procedure, you do not ask them. You keep your mouth shut and that’s it. So since no one has sent her for a gastroscopy/bronchoscopy they wont ask. I have tried my hardest to talk to them about it, I have tried to tell them to ASK about a gastroscopy and/or gastroscopy since nothing else is working. They refuse saying that since no doctor mentioned it, it’s therefore not needed.

I want to help her, I’m scared she’s going to die one day because she can’t breathe from having a coughing fit, but how can I help her if she won’t listen to what I’m saying?

She was up all last night coughing, gagging, choking; in tears, wasted, and weak. My dad currently has bronchitis and so he thinks it’s been passed to her which is very well may have. They are on their way to the walk in clinic since my grandparents are from out of town. If this were her family doctor, I’d ask to go just to ask about options regarding what could be done.

I’m at a loss, the whole family is scared for her. She can’t go anywhere without a bottle of water and every 10 minutes she’s choking. In her sleep she has fits, and my grandfather has to hold her so she doesn’t roll off the bed and to make sure she eventually starts breathing. This is going on 5 years now! Why can’t anyone find a diagnosis?! The sound of her choking is horrible, she struggles to breath, gasping sounds, it sounds constricted and when the spell passes she has to go lay down; she’s too weak to do anything.

She’s pushing 76, she’s in good health otherwise. She had cataract surgery a few years ago and is doing great but this is killing her. She’s never smoked in her life, never drank, no drug use.. she’s not prone to infections, not overweight. And yet no one can figure it out. It’s heart breaking – I want to help her, I want to figure it out but I can’t. Quite possibly one of the most frustrating things this whole holiday.

They’re on their way to the walk in clinic. She probably has bronchitis since you can hear the congestion in her lungs each time she coughs, just like my dad. They’ll probably give her antibiotics. She’ll take them and when it clears she’ll still be choking and coughing like before. The bronchitis is making it worse. I just don’t know how to help. I’m not a doctor so they refuse to listen to me. They don’t hear half of what doctors say anyways so I cant even ask WHY she hasnt been given a gastroscopy OR a bronchoscopy because they don’t know. They just know she hasn’t had it and so it mustn’t be warranted. But you’d think after 5 years.. …

Mind you, I don’t think too highly of their family doctor – he’s only at their small hospital, as far as I am concerned, to ‘rule the roost’. They’ve had some really, really good young doctors come in but every one of them has left and they managed to get ahold of two of them and both said it was because of the head doctor; he drove them out.

So frustrating!

Hallelujah

Friday is my last day of day shift; I’m so happy I could dance – actually I think I will dance! I cannot wait to go back to nights so I can sleep in til 10 a.m., shower, make lunch, watch tv, play on the internet, then mosey into the office. That’s freedom! None of this up at 5, on the bus at 7, at work at 8, home at 6 pm.. ugh; no way!

Cannot wait.
Cannot wait.

Going back to Kamloops for New Years! Yay, though really not that interesting. Probably should have just stayed home but since mom is here I guess I can’t tell her “sorry, go back without me..I know I screwed up your week plans..” Ah well, she’s been having a nice mini-vacation driving me to work and going back to sleep. You know, when she’s gone I think I’m going to really miss driving in a car to work. It’s got me started on seriously considering getting my full license and buying a smart car. Damnit! Mom!!!

Good night everyone!

Beautiful

Our existence in life
Is measured not in
Years.
But in the passing
Of fragile moments in time.

Many pieces of our
Lives contain scratches,

Chips, or streaks.
Times when you
laughed. Times
When you
Cried.

Sometimes, pieces
Don’t match.

They are misplaced.
Sometimes, parts of
Our lives are
Forgotten.
Others are painfully
Remembered.

But even though
The scratches,

and the chips
are unsightly.
And there are things
That you wish you
Never did.

You cannot undo them.
Nor repair them.
They create a portrait of
You.

They are a stained glass picture
in the museum of humanity.

The flaws make us
Human.

The portrait make us
Beautiful.

-SuperStenoGirl circa 2002.

My stripper song is…

Your Stripper Song Is

by Britney Spears “I’m a slave for you. I cannot hold it; I cannot control it. I’m a slave for you. I won’t deny it; I’m not trying to hide it.” You may seem shy, but you can let your wild side out when you want to!

What Song Should You Strip To?

He… He… He…

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

To all my blog readers and friends. I made the journey safely to my parents’ house in Kamloops from Vancouver; took just over 3 1/2 hours to get there. My grandfather came with my dad to pick me up at work which was great. Just around 5 minutes into Kamloops though, I was talking with the other guy we gave a ride to (the brother of a friend of the family) and I felt my nasals drop a bit then, instantly, it felt like my head exploded. I had the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life; so painful I could not even touch my face. My ears were aching, the headache wrapped from one ear around the back of my head to the other and behind my eyes. I was crying in no more than 3 seconds. It stayed with me more or less for the rest of the night. Mother attributes it to the change in altitude.

But I’m here now so that’s all that matters.

One of my mother’s clients brought over gifts for us the other night before I got here and apparently a few of them for myself and my younger sister are, in a word, “risky”. The woman sells sex toys and stuff like flavored edible body lotion etc. She had a party at our place before I moved out and laughed so hard at my younger sister hightailing it out of the room. She wants to be here when we open the gifts from her, I hope she’ll be surprised with my reaction. My sister will die of embarrassment at whatever she got though.

Yesterday we were in McDonald’s and I was telling my family that a few months ago one of the orthopedic surgeons was raffling himself off, kind of like an auction. If you win, you get to spend the day with him and see what he does. I told then that I think the winner paid over $1,000 for him. My grandmother who, as far as I knew, was a very sweet, devout Catholic woman looks at me and goes “Well, I hopes you gots to sleep with him for that price!” (She’s a Newfoundlander so they talk different). Everyone at the table just about killed themselves laughing. Now we know where my dad gets his pervertedness. We always thought it was from my grandfather and here it’s from my grandmother! Then they (Nanny and Poppy) were talking about how Poppy was going to get Nan drunk and take advantage of her. Nan was going “You can’t take advantage if I is a willing participant!”

Oi!

No idea what this day is going to bring. Although I’ve been up for over 2 hours already and it’s not even 8 am.

Again, Merry Christmas to everyone. I hope yours brings lots of happiness and joy, good times with family and tons of memories!

Cheers

What You Don’t Know

Compliments of Fat Doctor.

FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT ME

1. I have an innate fear of needles to the point I faint and have convulsions.

2. I am a Halo 2 freak.

3. I had (emphasis on HAD) an Eminem poster plastered to my ceiling over my bed when I was 16.

4. I type up to 130 wpm when I get going, and when I’m not transcribing.

5. I hate having stuff on my hands; hamburger, mud, dirt, glue – anything that makes my hands gross and icky I hate.

I tag Dr. Anonymous, Doc Shazam, donorcycle and MyHeartOnMySleeve

My kind of Intelligence

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well. An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly. You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary. You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

I should hope so given my job.

Circus Freak

You Are 60% Weird

You’re so weird, you think you’re *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

How Weird Are You?

This explains a lot.

1-2-3 Sesame Street!

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable – even if you don’t love them! You are usually feeling: Logical – you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

I’m a NEAT FREAK?! Huh, news to me. Took me 3 hrs to clean my 580 sq ft apartment last night, I hardly doubt that counts as a “neat freak”. But then, these tests are never wrong – right?

Fashion

I’m a young, hip (hah), gal who despite being way more on the nerdy/geeky side of life still knows what looks good and what doesn’t in fashion. I’m not talking Milan fashion, or Paris fashion (unless you’re talking Paris Ontario); but just general every day fashion. I also am lucky to be gifted with two things a) An ‘artsy’ eye for style with knowing what looks good on which body type and B) The inability to wear clothing that would look poifect on me due to being obese. However, I have never let that stop me from critiquing others sense of style or lack thereof. Thus, I hereby present you with SuperStenoGirls first installment of FASHION DOS AND DON’TS. Which will be separated into two categories: Men and Women.

MEN

DON’T: Wear flanel boxers with corduroy pants. If you run, you will set yourself on fire.
DON’T: Do not wear suspenders if you wear a belt; actually, don’t wear suspenders. If you can’t keep your pants up with a belt you need to think about buying smaller sizes. Waist circumference is not indicative of your manliness.
DON’T: Wear one of those cutesy, funny, cartoon ties or God forbid one that sings, lights up, moves, rolls up automatically or anything else that is ‘cartoonish’ unless you work in Pediatrics and with an audience that has the capability of finding the humor in it; i.e. Wearing such around infants probably won’t garner you any laughs.
DON’T: I do not care if you are 16, or if you are 60, it is never – ever appropriate to have your underwear visible over your pants. Furthermore, the space made by the waist band of your pants being around your buttocks should never be used as a storage device. If you clink and clack as you walk, people will think you have metalic testicles. I guarantee the majority of women do not want to go out with a guy with metalic testicles.
DON’T: Use chains as an accessory unless you’re in a biker gang. Even then, limit the length of the chain so they don’t get caught on any street signs as your whiping down the road on your hog.
DON’T: Grow mutton chops. They died with Abe Lincoln.
DON’T: Wear your KISS t-shirt or PANTERA t-shirt to the board meeting.

DO: Keep facial hair trimmed; it is more attractive in the winter than in the summer.
DO: Keep your hair nicely styled, if you do not prefer a style at least make an effort to comb it.
DO: Keep your hands and fingernails clean. There is nothing more unattractive than a man with a black line of dirt circulating his fingernails.
DO: Keep ear hair and nose hair to a minimum.
DO: Get rid of the unibrow.
DO: Smell nice, aftershave, cologne etc. It all adds to the total picture.
DO: Pick tasteful yet stylish accessories – a ring, a watch, even a chain necklace on some men is attractive. Depends on your profession though.
DO: Keep your shoelaces tied.

WOMEN
DON’T: Wear overalls. They belong on toddlers – where they can be used as convenient handles.
DON’T: Wear pigtails unless you are in elementary school.
DON’T: Wear knee socks unless you are 12. Instead, wear tights, hosiery, or bare legs with skirts.
DON’T: Tie Dye. It “dyed” in the 70s. Leave it alone.
DON’T: This one I cannot stress enough: Unless you are auditioning for a back up dancer part in a bad rap video – NEVER…. EVER… have your thong or g-string OVER the waist of your pants. NO ONE wants to see the crack of your butt at the office. NO ONE.
DON’T: Wear clothes to work that you would wear at an all night booze fest at the lasted club UNLESS you have the perfect body of an 18-year-old and work in fashion stores.
DON’T: Try to bring back clothes you wore in the 80s, despite the trend of that fashion coming back; actual pieces from the 80s are still out of style. Upgrade to the newer ones.
DON’T: Match your eye shadow with your outfit.
DON’T: Wear white eyeliner.
DON’T: Wear t-shirts such as “Rub my tummy for good luck” (I have this one) to work. It’s best suited for those comfy weekend days where you don’t do anything but stay inside.
DON’T: Wear capris with knee high boots unless the hem of the pants fall overtop of the boots. It is not attractive to see two inches of skin separating the two over your knee.
DON’T: Wear loud plaid prints. Subtle charcoal/gray plaid with a smart turtleneck and a trendy bag looks great.
DON’T: Wear those new English-riding style hats unless you are ACTUALLY riding a horse in an English saddle.
DON’T: Wear clothes fit for a size 10 woman when you’re a size 18. I don’t know how you manage to stuff yourself into them but just stop now. NO ONE likes to look at your belly hanging over the pants and below the shirt. No one.

DO: Be adventurous with your clothes yet keep to what makes you feel comfortable.
DO: Accessorize.
DO: Choose funky outfits for clubbing or weekend get togethers with the girls.
DO: Change your style every now and then.
DO: Seek out clothes that fit you properly and if not – have them tailored. $20 for tailoring goes much farther than inappropriately sized clothing does.
DO: Be girly – but at the same time be your age.
DO: Experiment with a new hair style or make up style every so often; try it out at home first before going to the office.

Go shopping alone over taking a friend who will simply agree with everything you said. That is how the trend of making bridesmaids were pistachio green, ruffled, poofy dresses started. One poor bridesmaid had her back turned and agreed to it without asking and it has just snowballed since. If you must go shopping with a friend, make sure before hand that they A) Have a good sense of fashion and B) Won’t agree with everything you try on. Test them too, periodically throughout the day throw on something absolutely attrocious and see if they agree with your choice.

Cheers!