A Day

one day closer to Movie Man leaving me. Not in a bad way. In a good way...for him. Movie Man had a good interview today. Proud of him. Know he sparkled. Happy for him, kinda yuck for me It's that whole patience thing I have to remember. It's all in His time. Not mine. That really is the kicker. I am better than I was in the past. Some folks, who read this blog may disagree. :)

Oh well.

On the bright side. I headed for my Poke today. That's what I call my Coumadin check-due to having the mechanical mitral valve in my heart. I tick. Did you know? When it's real quiet, you can hear me. Anyhoo, the Coumadin check is to see if my blood is too thick or too thin. Vitamin K affects Coumadin aka green stuff like broccoli or spinach. Today I was right in the middle of my range. 3.0. So I don't have to go back for another month. Glad. Through this whole ordeal, I've not had one major setback. Very Glad.

And since we're in February, it's when I start to reflect how my life changed in February 2006, February 27 to be exact. The day paramedics carted me to the ER. I spent all day and all night, and nobody knew where I was. Left the hospital on March 24, 2006--scar and all. Movie Man picked me up. Took me to Wal-mart so I could buy groceries. I drove that little cart and ran over everybody. I digress, plus I was scared to even THINK about spinach or broccoli, cause the nutritionist told me 'avoid it at all costs' because of the Coumadin. I didn't buy any that day.

Took me six months to finally get OVER that. Brings me today. I'm consistent in my Vitamin K eating. Don't think twice. Your body needs em. Just need to be consistent. Today, I'm in my range. Feel good. Cardiologist says, my valve works great, my heart itself works great, and she knows all is well with me. Even tho Movie Man might leave me, that's OK--it's time for him to move on. He'll just owe me a burger at the best burger place in Dallas: Burger Island! :)

On this day I'm very, very glad.

Monday Medicine

Got POKED today. That's what I call my Coumadin check aka INR. Because of the possibility of clots forming around my mechanical mitral heart valve, I pop Coumadin everyday. And let me just say this up front: I HATE to pop pills of ANY kind. Even while in the hospital, for my surgery--one of the nurses said, "Don't be so brave!" Which meant I wasn't asking for many painkillers. The pain I felt was more of an annoyance than anything else. Having the the breastbone heal can be an impatient kind of thing. The day I could finally sleep on my side, I almost ordered up a parade--and that was still some weeks after surgery.

So back to this pill thing. I HATE it. I don't want to take Coumadin or anything else I'm prescribed. My blood pressure pill, for instance, looks like something only my friend Flicka would get down easily. To pop a pill, to me, is to admit there's something wrong. Kind of a pisser really. Something I've had to work on mentally.

And had to learn how to feel good about eating Vitamin K, which effects Coumadin. We're talking green leafy vegggies here: spinach, broccoli. The more you eat of Vitamin K, the blood clots. Consistency is the name of the game. Guess you could call me a poster child. Unless,something else comes along, Coumadin and I are bonded together forever.

Oh well.

This little thing called "life" keeps me grounded. I realize I will do what I need to do to keep truckin. Sure, there's some side effects. Minor ones in my thoughts. I've had a few--fatigue for one, yet a small price to pay for a glassful of Life. And besides, there are cats to pet and Blue Ice Cream to savor. I can deal with what I gotta do, in spite of not feelin' a whole lotta love for the meds.

I am blessed.