Moving Forward

I fasted and went Wednesday morning for my blood tests. It felt like I was donating blood. My results came back with a mixed review. My INR shows that my blood thinner was not working the past two weeks which is odd. It actually is affected by everything else that goes into my body: foods with vitamin K, any other medicines (particularly antibiotics) and apparently the diabetes or medication for it. I am going to have to keep on and get retested in a week, third week in a row. Normally once a month is fine. My white count, which indicates infection, is down significantly and I am thrilled about that. Dr. D says he is "cautiously optimistic." I am still anemic which started when I was last hospitalized in November. I think this accounts for the dizziness/weakness I am sometimes feeling. I will pick up some iron today and resume having cream of wheat for breakfast. It's difficult because I love hot, healthy cereals for breakfast such as steel cut oatmeal but because of diabetes I must have protein. My main sources of breakfast protein are eggs and peanut butter. Peanut butter is usually on toast and I usually make the eggs into an omelet.

There was a huge drama in my family this week as my brother was coming. He had been told in the past by my mother that he could not bring his dog. He called a sister-in-law who had volunteered to keep my mother's dog at her house so he could have his dog there (she didn't know my mother had already vetoed that idea.) She went over and my mother got so upset about the situation. My mother had a medical appointment this afternoon and I was going to take care of my father while she was gone. When she called me this morning she said my brother and his wife would be leaving at the time she needed someone so I would still be needed. I was a little frustrated. I am very tired and dizzy. I told her I was disappointed that they were here for the first time in nearly a year and couldn't do this. She called back half an hour later and said she misunderstood and they would do it. I plan to curl up in a chair when I am done writing this entry and snooze for at least an hour. I am just wiped out. I'm sure it's the anemia. I am getting concerned as I must return to work in ten days. I don't know how I will manage being so tired but I simply must.

One of my friends got very upset about all the donations to Haiti. She made a post on her Facebook saying that while she also felt sorry for the people of Haiti she is working full time and has been sick for a month and cannot afford to go to a doctor. (She recently left a husband with a substance abuse problem after giving him yet another try.) She wrote and said that her family members who would never offer to help pay for her doctor visit had all bragged about sending money to Haiti. I understand her point. I did gently point out to her that she has a roof over her head, a warm bed and food to eat. She states that she eats one good meal a day and that is all she can afford. Life is hard sometimes.