Misc

What a winter-when it's not below zero and freezing pipes, it's dropping a foot of snow on us! This last storm is supposed to leave 8-15 inches of snow by the time it moves out overnight. The saplings say we have about a foot out there now.

I just read that this monster storm has left a million people without power. Kentucky alone had 350,000 out. I predict this is just the status quo with climate change-and it could get worse.

I have been waiting for Exxon Mobil's fourth quarter earning reports to hit the net. I noted that last year they were released Feb 1, so a couple more days. I predict even larger profits for this quarter. Oil prices are down to less than 40dollars a barrel, but gasoline prices should be running about 1.25 a gallon at those figures, and it is 1.86 here at the local stations. That means .60 a gallon higher on the refinery end-so don't be fooled, the oil giants are not losing money at $38 a barrel.

Regarding the banking bailout, the feds are blacking out contract info as to what banks received deals. Not only has money been given to the banks outright with no accountability, but over a trillion dollars has been lent out at special rates. The rich get richer while the poor get laid off, kicked out, and sit shivering in the dark.

On a personal note, I was on two feet today! The goats were having fencing issues, and while the saplings have been stellar with the goat care chores, fencing falls to me. I was pleased to see how clean the goat houses were while I was out there fixing the electric fence, and disconnecting some lower lines in preparation for tonight's storm. That was before I knew we might get over a foot of snow. So I might have the Firebird strap on the snowshoes tomorrow and run the fenceline for me.

I tried like hell to get a boot on my burnt foot today. Even the giant moon boots were a no-go. Finally I grabbed a pair of sneakers and I couldn't believe I could get one on over the bandages. I put a boot on the good foot.

I went into the pens on crutches, and Moonie and Obiwan were scared to death of me! Kind old Caesar greeted me at his fenceline with a grin. Julius was a little nervous until I spoke to him, then buried his face in the hay and managed to step on my toes while I was working. Nic was oblivious as long as hay was in front of him. Derek and his Mom Daphne took a break from their hay and let me pet them.

I ended up having to go off-trail to disconnect part of the fence, and my toes were FROZEN by the time I made it back to the house! I guess the circulation isn't too great on the toes on the burnt foot. Plus, sneakers are not too warm!

Now I am worried with all this snow I will have to get on the goat house roof and shovel it off. I really don't want to get up there!

My foot looked a little irritated when I changed the bandages this afternoon, and it was bothering me tonight, so I tried to keep off of it tonight and went back to the crutches. The itching has started on the ankle and toes-I will be in agony when the rest starts to heal more. That's still too tender to be itching.

My house is a disaster! I haven't had the heart to ask the kids for much more than fetching and carrying with all the extra outdoor chores. I am hoping to vaccuum tomorrow and get to the enormous pile of dishes. I don't want the place a hovel on my birthday!

Hopefully by tomorrow my aversion to hot water will be wearing off.... :D

Tree down Update

First, I want to thank everyone that has been sending me positive energy and healing thoughts! I think it is doing the trick!

I had canceled my Thursday appointment with the clinic because I was mad about the contaminated burn cream they used, and the script that would have overdosed me on Tylenol. I had them fax in a script for more burn cream, and got more bandages, and have been attending to it myself.

Then Friday I rescheduled another appointment for tomorrow. That was before I changed the bandages. I was very perturbed that afternoon! I didn't like the looks of it a bit. Then I requested an online Reiki healing and gave myself some Reiki and things looked better yesterday! I trimmed some of the skin back-a job which really makes me feel queasy but not painful as the skin is dead.

I did the same tonight, as I am concerned that those pockets could trap bacteria. Things are starting to look shiny and pink so I think that is a good sign! I will know better tomorrow after the nurse looks at it.

The pain has been much better over the last two days, as well. I cut way back on the painkillers, and didn't take one until 4 this afternoon, before I was to change the bandages. The foot felt so much better that I was actually able to stand on both feet and hobble a bit while changing the litterbox. (life must go on, LOL)

I am happy about that, because this morning my hands felt bruised from the crutches, and my armpits are getting tender, as well. I have been using a technique to carry somethings with crutches-by pinching the crutch under the arm and twisting my body, I can carry something in one hand and still keep that crutch in place. But it does make my armpit sore!

I don't think I will be dancing on my birthday, but I feel a lot better about how things are going. Hopefully over the hump! A saying my mother used to say has been ringing in my ears lately..."it's going to get worse before it gets better." I am praying the worse was the awful four day photo I posted mid-week.

Yeah, I was pretty stoned on morphine to subject my blog reader to that one!

WARNING: Burn Photo

1/20/09

Yeah, that looks a lot worse than the second day photo.

I got the script filled for the vicodene, and according to the prescribed dosage, I would be ingesting between 6,000 and 9,000 mg of acetominophen-when 4,000 is the maximum daily prescribed dose for healthy adults. Freak out? Yes, I did. I finally go through to the docs, and they agreed to give me another script for percoset, but said I would have to pick up the slip. So, as dark was looming, I hobbled my way to the car and drove the hour roundtrip to get the slip.

I will have to go into town tomorrow morning to have it filled. And they gave me just enough to last until my appointment Thursday. Yet they gave me 60 vicodene. WTH? I mean, they can look at my file and see that I rarely take any painkillers, even with my history of broken bones, blown vertebral discs, and pinched nerve. Morons!! I would say by this photo that if anything deserves a script of oxycodone, this would be it. Morphine is the drug of choice with severe burns, and I would guess this qualifies.

Cool, we watched the inauguration. Biden was even president for five minutes since Bush was through at noon and Obama didn't get sworn in until 12:05. Roberts flubbed the wording-Barack gave a great acceptance speech. Bush flew away to cheers.

Katie Couric said, "oh, the crowd is cheering Bush as he leaves."

Another commenter said, "they might be cheering because he is leaving..."

Yeah, they should have tossed some shoes in the air in celebration. :P

Tuesday

Thanks Velvet Ginger, Tonia, Woodmouse, Warren for your comments and concern!!

I did make it to the clinic yesterday. I didn't have to wait too long. I set myself up in the waiting room with my foot elevated on an extra chair, pulled out a junk paperback I have been picking away at, and was called out back by the nurse.

My new-to-me PA had the day off, so I was scheduled to see the new-to-the-clinic PA. The nurse took my blood pressure, but I had to remind her to check my temp as I am concerned about infection. Temp was normal. Upper BP was still a little high for me.

Then I cut off my makeshift bandage for her, and peeled the pads off. I was shocked to see the area covered in blood. She assured me that it looked normal and very clean. Then the PA came in and checked feeling in the foot, and I asked her for a refill on the painkillers. She said she was going to step me down to vicodene. Last night I started freaking out about that, because the oxycodone is barely doing the job. I have to redose every three hours minimum just to be able to get up on crutches.

As soon as that leg goes down, it feels like I am sticking it in a pot of boiling water. It is agony!!! The current painkillers at least enable me to hobble around on crutches. I am scared the vicodene won't be strong enough-plus they are 750 mg of acetominophen (the oxy's are 300), and acetominophen upsets my stomach. So I won't be able to double up on the vicodene without od'ing on acetominophen.

Anyhow, the nurse then redressed the wound-the same way the last nurse did, with a few non- stick pads and two rolls of gauze, leaving the toes exposed. I reached over and grabbed some paper towels, draped them over the toes, and then pulled the stockinette over them. She gave me more supplies-again only four pads, but six rolls of gauze. When I got home I layered the toilet paper over the whole thing and put the stocking on to hold it.

The nurse suggested I could leave the dressing until she sees me again on Thursday-but I don't know how I could have left it as she wrapped for even a day, with all the wound weeping. GROSS!!! So I will change it again today with fresh dressing.

She did rinse it with some sterile saline and blotted it dry as I did the day before at home, except with water. And she gave me the rest of the saline to use. I cannot believe the ER directed me to use soap and water!!!! Which I could not bring myself to do-are they nuts????

The other disturbing thing was when she brought in the jar of silvadene. I had the impression that it was already opened, although she did give me the rest of the jar. I know if the previous user had been extremely careful and used fresh sticks to dip into the jar each time, it should still be mostly sterile, but given the way I have seen others be so cavalier about sterility, I have my doubts. You think double-dipping food sauces is gross-just think about double-dipping a jar of burn cream from patient to patient!

I did find out that it will be at least A MONTH before I can get a shoe on again. But, at least they were very encouraging about how things looks right now, so hopefully I will heal eventually.

And today is inaugeration day-I am still trying to keep up on world news. Hopefully the US is headed in a better direction.

Peace, Tree

Sunday

Thank you Tonia and Woodmouse for your well wishes and advice-and Warren yesterday.

I was not too pleased with how things looked today when I finally re-wrapped the foot. I should probably be bed ridden and keep it elevated. From the ankle to almost the toes there is no skin. Giant blisters across the foot near the toes. The toes aren't blistered but they are dark and puffy. More skin has slipped around the base of the big toe. The bottom of the foot is fine.

A dozen years ago I spent everyday for three weeks visiting a friend in the largest burn unit in Maine. He ended up needing skin grafts, and I think my foot looks worse than his arm did. I hope I am wrong. I also had burns at that time-some blisters and a few spots of third degree, which healed fine. This is just such a large area on the foot it scares me.

I did NOT have enough tefla pads to cover the area (such a nice nurse) and had to sub a feminine pad for under the ankle. I was also given what we call Silvadene cream-it is silver/sulfa, great for burns and soothing as well as antimicrobial. I have to spread it on the pad since the wound won't hold it.

I am on oxycodone. Woah. I ended up being very rushed out last night trying to get some ginger ale at 3 am. I broke out in a total sweat and felt very ill and woozy. I sat in the kitchen with my head between my knees until I was able to gulp some ginger ale. Then I finally made it to the couch where I passed out for an hour or so and was finally strong enough to crawl upstairs.

I have only taken two today. They work great taking the pain away but the side effects are a bit overwhelming. Like I said, I should probably be in bed.

I am supposed to go to my doc's tomorrow, but it may be closed for MLK day. I am really going to have to adlib on the dressing since I am now out of tefla pads and down to one gauze roll. I still have some cream.

We are having a big snowstorm today and I couldn't get out on crutches, so the kids did all the chores without me. I tried not to watch out the window today. So far so good, knock on wood. I really hate being incapacitated!!!!! :((

Treedown update

Thank you Warren and Woodmouse for your well wishes!

I was really sorry I went back to the hospital today. Last night I was aggravated that I had to go through two sets of computers and triage before being seen. In fact, I started bawling in pain and fear during the triage (bp, temps, saturated O2, more questions...) I was kicking myself in the arse that I hadn't taken the ambulance, since then I would have been whisked straight in.

I didn't take the ambulance because the last time I called one 10 years ago, every first responder in a three town area (firemen, paramedics, etc) showed up and was touring my house while I lay on the floor with back spasms.

Last night the doc did an excellent job debriding the wound, and the nurse knew how to bandage a burn. Today I had to see three different computers all with the same questions-so that was six times in twelve hours and had to say I had no allergies, and confirm my phone number, insurance, etc.

The Physician's assistant who finally saw me just poked me and left me in the hands of a green nurse(as in 2 years out of school, tops) . Neither of them tried to clean the site. Her idea of bandaging was to contaminate the pads with bare hands. Then she put gloves on to slap three small pads on before taking the gloves off to too-tightly wrap the foot with a gauze roll-after putting her finger in the corner of her eye while in process. She left my bare burned toes exposed and said, there you go....

I demanded a stockinette as it is still single digits out there. When I got home I took off the stockinette and went over the whole thing with a roll of toilet paper and then put the stocking back on. I had to do that because despite all the bandages and handfuls of gauze the nurse used last night, the wound had started to seep through them all within 12 hours.

I am instructed to wash and re-dress the foot tomorrow myself-and she provided me with three more pads and a gauze roll for the dressing. Then I am supposed to go to my regular doc on Monday.

Luckily I had just finished stocking up on everything including hay and groceries, so we are set for supplies. The Firebird has leapt to the challenge and is doing all the chores under my direction.

Another lucky thing for me is that I had a few weeks experience on crutches when much younger, so I can manoever fairly well. Carrying anything is a strain, though, as I have to use one crutch so the other hand is free to carry. Then I have to hop. Try that with the morning coffee!!!

The pain pills are really good and effective. Good thing, as I mentioned earlier I was bawling in the ER last night, and I tolerate pain very well, usually.

I did take a photo of the foot in the ER today, but I just cannot bear to make my reader sick. Thanks for listening!