Happy Homemaker Monday
| You can visit Sandra and join HHM HERE |
**NOTE: I've been trying to post this for three weeks and just never have the heart to do it.
It has been a minute - but there's been good reasy why I haven't been able to concentrate long enough to formulate a question. This year would be trying on the strongest of people - and we still have a quarter of it to go.
As you know, my anxiety and depression has been monumental this year. I tried several medications that had REALLY bad side effects and I'm finally back on kilter mostly. But it took a lot of hard work, sleepless nights, and dark thoughts in order to get here.
My dad had his heart attack and has been having issues since. He'll be 83 in November and his age is taking its toll. Due to all that is going on (coming) his blood pressure is out of control and nothing is helping. I feel like he's a ticking time bomb. They think they know what he has, so he has tests coming up - but if it is aldosteronism - he's already tried the meds and they haven't worked. So I don't know.
You also know my sister has advanced cirrhosis and is in and out of the hospital. Well, her liver has decompensated to the point where she now has alcoholic hepatitis - which means she has deteriorated further. It also means if she doesn't stop drinking - she will not live for very long.
BUT WAIT! There's more! We've had 3 ER visits and hospital stays in the past month and once we determined we needed to make the drive to the University of Michigan Hospital (she's treated there for her liver) they also found out she has colon cancer. She is currently in the hospital now - but her liver is too sick for them to do what needs to be done for the cancer. She's not stable enough to have the tumor removed or even to find out if the cancer has spread. (UPDATE - I took her to a follow up last week - and not much has changed. They can't stage her cancer because her body is too weak because of the liver)
Our family is pretty close and this has hit all of us hard. Of course she is the one going through it and she is the one that will have to make the final decision if she is going to stop drinking and try to recover or if she is going to give up - we have tried to do what we can. She SAID that this time she is going to stop - but again, I just don't know.
On top of the overall sadness of my sister's situation, and the overwhelming stress of it - I have also been given a new project at work which requires a lot of concentration and tomorrow (today - Monday) I start a six-week training for an entirely different part of the company. A few of us who have several years behind us were chosen to assist in another area that is having trouble keeping up.
I have been working, taking care of family, and crawling into my dark bedroom to either play video games or watch YouTube videos. Anything that requires brain cells has been off limits. I've been eating like crap - I've gained back a few pounds - stopped walking - haven't been reading.
I need to start living life again and learn how to do that while under stress and overwhelm. Just haven't figured out how to do that yet. I've even stopped reading/studying my Bible.
***Past week's pondering***
Drove out to UM hospital a few times, worked, and made my dad a few dinners.
*** The weather in my neck of the woods***
It's been pretty nice in the upper 70s low 80s. Next week there are a couple days in the 60s and I'm excited about that.
- Ground chicken taco meat
- Pork carnitas
- Fajita chicken
- Real Good chicken tenders
- Chicken burgers
- Shrimp
- Turkey dogs
- Ground beef
- Protein pasta
- White Rice
- Waffle fries (not frozen)
- Baked potatoes (not frozen)
- Green beans
- Broccoli and peppers
- Corn salsa
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| This doesn't look like much - but we had terrible storms with nearby tornadoes - plus it's the only picture I've taken in the past 2 weeks |
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