So here's the short of it, 
When it rains it pours!

And here's the long.

Today I needed to get to work pretty early as I still had a few things to get done before our PD started at 8:30, so I stopped by Mom's at 7:00 to check on her.  I thought I'd just sneak in and make sure she was sleeping soundly or bring her something to drink and encourage her to rest up.  I pulled into the driveway to see lights on and the TV going!  Mom was up watching the news, working on a quilt pattern for Elizabeth with samples of each block so Elizabeth can make Avery a quilt, and having morning coffee with a piece of Hershey milk chocolate with almonds for breakfast!  So much for my sneaking in!

I took a great picture of her and sent in to my brothers, but I'm following the golden rule here, because I don't think I'd want her to post the picture of me on the internet if I had that big a shiner!  Her eye is terribly swollen and very dark purple.  The stitches almost blend into the bruising.  From a distance it almost looks as though she is wearing an eye patch.

My plan was to go home for lunch and bring something in for us to eat.  In the meantime she sent me a phone message and asked for some Boric Acid (that may be another post altogether!!!).  On my way to get us lunch (and her Boric Acid) I got a text from Valdis saying to call him as soon as I can.

.....   Valdis began to describe a horrifying night of throat swelling and discomfort to which I respond, "Honey, that sounds like you might have strep.  You should probably go to a minute clinic."  "Mom,"he says, this is not strep, I've had strep lots of times and it doesn't feel this way." So he called his prescribing doctor, and after wrangling with the front desk staff 3 times before he finally got them to agree to tell the doctor instead of leaving a message for him to return after office hours, Valdis got a call telling him to go immediately to the Emergency Room.  So I grabbed stuff, dropped it off for Mom and made a beeline down to the ER (yes, again) where Valdis was already checked in and waiting for the triage nurse.

Sure enough as soon as they took a look at him in triage and heard his symptoms and his meds, they got him into a space in the ER so that he could be seen at once.  It seems that the doctor, physicians assistant, and nurses all thought there was about a 50/50 chance that it was strep. He couldn't breathe through his nose, his tonsils, throat, and uvula were swollen and covered in white blisters.  While they waited for the strep test to percolate, they went ahead and gave him benedryl, Solu-Medrol, and prednisone.  This was a precautionary measure!  We sat, chatted, and waited.  As the clock ticked down, his color started calming down, his throat became less inflamed, his breathing eased, and even his voice began to sound more normal.  By 4:00 this afternoon, when the strep test came back negative, he was well enough to be dismissed to home.   Since he'd had a huge dose of benedryl, he had a friend pick him up and take him home - and we stopped at a pharmacy to get his prescription of steroids.

WOW!  what a night and day.

After I got Valdis handed off to a good friend, I came to Mom's where I found Aunt Joyce.  We are SO fortunate that she lives so close by.  She hopped in the car this afternoon and came down to see about Mom!  That included bringing a pecan pie (a small piece of yummy peanut butter pie) and her loving self! I'm so glad she's going to be with Mom tonight.

I think all together, I may have gotten about 2 or 3 hours of sleep last night.  I'm beginning to feel the need to find my pillow and settle in for the night!

Whoever you are - wherever and for whatever reason you dropped in to read this post, I know your positive energy can have a powerful impact on our lives here in Chattanooga.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.