I Am Jack's Detached Cornea

Brian finally went back to work this week after being home the whole of last week with a detached epithelium, the first layer of the cornea. This is the 2nd time this has happened. I hope we don't have a 3rd time.

The first time this happened, we treated it as pink eye for 2-3 days, with no improvement. Finally after days of suffering, we saw the opthamalogist who took a Q-tip and scraped the old, loose cornea away, patched it up and away we went. Except Brian couldn't stand to have the patch over his eye. After 3 very long days and nights, the patch was removed and everything seemed to be mended.

Fast forward a few weeks, and 3am on a Saturday finds him bouncing off the walls of the bedroom with more excruciating pain in his eye. After getting through the night, there were hard decisions to be made. The doctor couldn't be reached, so we decided to go to the ER in Fort Worth. But take the kids? My last trip to L&D for contractions proved taking them anywhere like that was a very bad idea. Could we call someone? Who knew how long we would be there? So we called Brian's mother to come all the way from Beaumont so I could take him to the emergency room.

There, we were told that the cornea was not detached, there was just an abrasion on the eye. Another patch, pain meds and instructions to follow up with the doctor on Monday. For all this, I see they are billing our insurance $1100.

Thankfully, Brian's mother stayed through the weekend. She took care of the girls while I took care of Brian. And took care of the yard, did the laundry, bathed the girls, and swept and mopped the kitchen, prepared meals, went to the grocery store.

Monday, we waited 2 hours to be "worked in" to see the doctor at which time we were told that he can be reached at home after hours. At his house. With the number listed in the phone book. I guess we'll know for next time, and hope that next time never comes. He also confirmed what Brian already knew...not only was the corena detached again, but it looked like it had never reattached in the first place. Blast. Then, Dr. Terrell, doctor who can be reached at home on the weekends and after hours, took a needle and proceeded to do vile things to Brian's eye.

The few days following that were horrible for everyone. Brian couldn't see a thing, he was in terrible pain that narcotics barely took the edge off and not getting any sleep at night which meant I wasn't getting much sleep either. I don't know what I would have done if I'd been on my own with the girls, too. I think I would have been melting down every quarter of an hour.

I get so frustrated with my inability to do it all and be everything to everyone. I find in these situations that I become even more selfish than usual. But maybe I can blame it on being very pregnant. It's all I can do to haul myself around.

Brian is finally doing better and back to taking care of me so all is right in the world again.

Late Night, Early Morning

I am a night owl. I have always preferred to stay up late and sleep in. The more our numbers increase, the harder it gets to indulge. It doesn't help that I take big naps in the afternoon with the girls and just can't go to sleep until the wee hours.

Last night, it was 2:30am. Why? I was watching my newly arrived Netflix DVD, Grey's Anatomy. I started with watching only one and felt compelled to watch all of them on the DVD. I initially ordered it wondering what all the fuss was about, and now I know, and I have been sufficiently sucked in. This was after watching the other movie with Brian that also arrived yesterday. This is what we do instead of watching TV. We don't have TV. No cable. This is what we do for entertainment.

But of course, my girls were up-and-at-'em early. We have reworked the sleeping arrangements so that things will go smoother at night, but failed to establish rules for in the morning. My earliest bird decided to go into her sister's room, turn on the lamp and start playing with the loudest toy in there. Needless to say, that sister was unhappy. She came and woke me up to report that she couldn't go back to sleep. Not the way I wanted to start my day. Actually, starting my day the way I want is pretty unlikely on a weekday.

But I am feeling more motivated than usual to trudge through putting my house together. I just cannot stand the way it is right now. I will put my little crumb-snatchers to work to help minimize my exertion, and thus, my contractions.

Neglecting My Blog

I admit it. I've neglected my blog. Facebook is more compelling and requires less work. Since my last update:

• I signed up to become a Close To My Heart scrapbooking consultant because Brian and I were convinced we would be moving back to the Beaumont area. I thought that would be an excellent area to introduce people who didn't know how much fun scrapbooking could be. The new job didn't happen, but I was already in. Teaching scrapbooking and card classes wasn't as difficult as I thought it was going to be. Some people seem to actually enjoy it which makes me feel good!
• I actually completed the binding on Darcy's quilt so she could use it. Not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be. Just took a couple of days of stitching.
• We found out we are having a boy. I don't know that I'll be entirely convinced until I actually see it for myself. Although 2 doctors and an ultrasound tech have reassured me that I am indeed carrying The Welch Heir. Finding out this information was very exciting as I was at the maternal-fetal specialist making I sure I wasn't having serious problems and I got this news first. Then the doctor told me all was well on the inside. Double blessings.
• We have moved to Granbury which seems to suit us better. Of course, leaving the old house was a stick in the eye of gigantic proportions. Who would have thought that a two-year relationship would end like it did? As a person who does not prefer confrontation and must be pushed, pushed, pushed to that end, I cannot believe the accusations that were leveled at us. We were accused of abandoning the property because we were not all out by the time we had indicated in writing, which was 2 weeks before the end of the lease. Even though we still had stuff there. Even though Brian had called and informed her that we would need more days, and she agreed. Our deposit was hacked to pieces for "expenses" incurred during our first year of residence. A plumbing expense we would have gladly paid at the time. Et cetera. It was not going to be worth all the hassle, and we certainly didn't want to preserve a relationship with them. In fact, I hope I never see that affected, marytred, woe-is-me woman again. Ever.
• And now we are in a new rental house in Granbury. In which the owners have filed bankruptcy. We like the house and think it would be a good fit for us for a while, but I am hoping that the bankruptcy court does not cancel our rental agreement, as they are within their power to do.

Well, that's enough for right now. Life is moving on and I am less than 6 weeks away from my scheduled delivery date. I am not ready for the baby, and don't have the energy to get ready. Brian's plate is fairly full as it is, picking up my slack. But what a guy. He never complains, but assures me that things will be better soon.