So This Thing Happened...

If you read my last post, you'll know that DH has been having health issues. I'm happy to report that he's greatly improved, much stronger, and will be home Saturday. While he's been in the Rehab Unit regaining strength, this has been what my day has looked like:

1. Wake up at 4:00AM, and try to go back to sleep until at least 5:00AM. Fail miserably, and get up anyway.
2. Clear the cobwebs out of my brain with some coffee, and get cleaned up.
3. Start a load of laundry, wash any dishes, and get the easy tasks out of the way.
4. Finish up, or continue to work on those deep cleaning projects that have been let go. You know, washing walls, cleaning out closets, wiping down shelves, cleaning cupboards, tossing the stuff that he won't miss and we don't need, cleaning light fixtures, vacuuming and cleaning drapes and curtains, well, you know what I mean...
5. Shower, make a lunch, and head out to the rehab center to hang with DH, talk to Social Workers, Physical and Occupational Therapists, and nursing staff. Spend hours cheerleading and being supportive, and nagging when necessary (tee-hee).
6. Come home, work on those deep cleaning projects some more, eat a little supper, and fall asleep while trying to catch 15 minutes of a Cubs game in my comfy chair. Give up, go to bed and then start the process all over again.
7. And let's not forget the grocery shopping, the oil changes, the banking, and all those other errandy things we all have to do.

Well.....All that caught up with me. Or maybe it was just my body's timing. I don't know why what happened when it happened; it just did. A week ago. Before I tell you, you need to know that I'm home and fine. But it could have been otherwise.

Standing in the shower, I went into Ventricular Tachycardia. Rapid heartbeat. Really rapid. Like 235 bpm. I won't go into too many details, but suffice it to say that my BFF Jennifer whom I called, saved my life. She came over, called 911, and off I went with a whole squad load of really cute EMT's. If I were only 35 years younger, lol!! A stop in the ER, then up to ICU for two days. My son (the family practice doctor) dropped everything and drove over from Madison, stayed with me the whole time, and translated the medicalese when I needed it. We have told DH some of this, but not all until he's home and can see that I'm fine and fully functioning. Had a million IV's, endless lab work, scans, x-rays, medications, and a heart cath. NO blockages, narrowing, or plaque buildup. I've been diagnosed with SVT, and will have another heart cath next month with ablations and the possibility of a defibrillator implanted. I'm in no danger. And other than being tired from the medications I have to take, I really am alright. I'm also learning to say "just stop." Stop cleaning so much. Stop thinking I'm super woman (though with a diagnosis of SVT, I pretty much am, lol). Just stop. Wow! Is that hard or what?!! I have an amazing daughter and sil, plus adult grandkids here in town who have been blessings. And my friends and neighbors are kind and helpful as well. So I'm covered. God is good, and watches over fools like me. I wanted you to know a bit of what has happened. It might be a few more days, or until the next Twofer Challenge before I post again, but now you'll understand why. With DH coming home, and multiple tests, dr.'s appointments, and getting into a new routine for both of us, that has to be my priority. But I'm here. I'm fine. And by God's Grace, I'm alive and well.

Card, you say? Haven't had much time, but here's a little one I made as a thank you note for my neighbor. Rather appropriate for my situation, don't you think? Playing along at CASology.

And we did "Zoom" right along to the hospital, lol!

That's an old PS ambulance stamp, a LF dotted line, and MFT dies. A bit of Copic coloring and some GA on the window and red light. I'm off now. Take care and blessings to you all.

Twofer Challenge #7

While I've been mostly absent, I took a few minutes throughout the last Twofer Challenge to peek at all those wonderful tree cards. You all have such amazing talents!! Congratulations to the winners and the Honorable Mentions! Hope to see you in the gallery for this challenge, where the prompt is, "Beverage." Oh so many choices! I almost went with a beer bottle stamp, but instead chose coffee for my cards (big surprise there, right?!).

Here they are photographed together:

And separately:

The card with the chevron panel is actually a birthday card for a dear friend, while the second card is for my friend and hairdresser who came to my house to give me a haircut when I couldn't leave DH for an hour to go to her salon. I've used a vast variety of stamps and dies on these cards, and the list is as follows starting with the top card:

Doodlebug chevron paper, MFT wonky frame die, PTI cups, Verve sentiment, MFT hearts.

And the bottom card:

Hero Arts green cardstock, unknown gingham paper, Verve sentiment, PTI cup, Poppystamps leaf die, Mama Elephant scalloped border die, MFT scalloped circle, and a WPlus9 circle die.

Now...if you haven't popped over to the Twofer Challenge Blog yet, I'd encourage you to do just that! My teammates have once again really smashed it out of the park, and you'll be amazed at their creations. And be sure to check out our Guest Designers, Bonnie and Marianne, too! Once you've been inspired by all the lovely cards you find there, I hope you'll play along! Just make two different cards for two different occasions using the same stamps and/or dies. Don't forget to photograph them together when you're ready to pop them in the gallery.

(You can skip this next part if you want...)

In case you've been wondering, DH has been dealing with some health issues since the first of the year. At nearly 81 years old, these things happen sometimes. He'd been losing strength in his legs, and after three angioplasties in his lower legs, which helped his circulation, the strength continued to decline. About six weeks ago, he literally collapsed in a chair and couldn't get up. After a trip to the ER, and a four-day hospital stay, he's been in a rehab unit rebuilding his abilities. Our house was pretty well set up for his using the walker, but it needed to be tweaked a bit. So that's what I've been doing in between driving to and from the Rehab Center and spending time with him there. I finished all the big projects and he did well on a home visit with one of his Physical Therapists in attendance. She was pleased with our 'set-up,' and with his maneuvering around the house. He should be home in a few days, and once I get him into a good routine, I hope to be back much more in blogland. But for today, I need to go spend time with my sweetie pie. Take care, and ...