My second (and hopefully last) surgery has been done and I am out of the hospital.  YIPPEE!

I am starting to get around a little better already.  I would like to thank all of you that have kept my family in your prayers for so long.

I do have a couple of things to vent about though....

Someone at the hospital mis-labeled a list.  Instead of boldly marking it with "Possible Complications of this Horrible Surgery" they instead printed "Ronda's To Do List".  So, I promptly started getting to my work.

Infection.... okay, you can mark that one as started
Drop in blood pressure to dangerous levels... okay, check off that one too
Fluid retention... is 18 pounds of fluid enough to get that one crossed off my list?
Infection... put two check marks there. I am, after all, an over achiever
Nausea... oh circle that one!  I can keep that one up for days.

OH?  That wasn't my "To Do List"?  You want me to STOP accomplishing all of this?

I was told that the recovery time for this was 2 weeks.  Did someone change the calendars while I wasn't looking?  How many days are in a week?  15?????

My family is tired of hearing this but for the rest of the world.... "Can I be done with this yet?  It is getting old!"

And I didn't even tell the gross stuff...     YUCK!

It has been 12 weeks since I had my "plumbing" work done.  I have been counting down the days until the three month mark when I can get "re-connected" to appropriate "exits".  (I don't need to tell anyone how annoying it is to have a bellybutton that blows bubbles and leaks.)  I have been counting days until I can get this FIXED!

So, can someone please tell me why I volunteered to wait 6 weeks more????????  I am still in shock that I told the surgeon with a smile on my face!

I talked with his nurse last week and she told me that it would probably be a month or two MORE before they "went in".  I guess that I came to grips with that fact over the follow 3 days.  I know when I finally accepted it because that is when I quit crying and started laughing.

The doctor explained that when you get "opened up" that everything inside gets stuck together.  At 3 months, he says that about 90% of the stuff has already become un-stuck.  At the 6 month mark, everything that is going to un-stick will be done.  It is better for my body to remove the adhesions than to have him cut some of them apart.

With this knowledge, I said, "I'll wait 6 more weeks.  Sure, this isn't that bad.  I can handle it."

Can someone please have me admitted to the wacko wing.  I have obviously lost my mind!

I have been using the silicone sheets for over a month now and my scar is flat.  Yippee!  It has stopped hurting too.

I forgot and left them on while I went swimming yesterday.  It didn't even hurt them.

Epinions gives them a bad wrap.  I'm glad that I don't believe everything that I read.

I was gone for months and I made 3 new HSB friends.... Cool!

I wrote this entry but lost it before it got saved.  Bummer!  So.... "Second verse, same as the first"

I am finally off of pain meds and I can lift more than a coffee cup.  I finally got a nurse that knew how to fix the problems with my newly installed belly button.  I spent 30 in pain that was completely avoidable.  I complained about the pain and that it wasn't healing from a few days after the stiches were removed... 30 days later, the nurse said, "You aren't healing very well, are you?"

She said that she would call in a specialist nurse and a week later... I finally got to see someone who knew how to fix the problem.  Two days after following the correct instructions and using the right products, NO PAIN!

I can actually function now.  I even walked from my house to the street without exhaustion.  Maybe I will even be able to drive soon.  It has been two months since I have been able to leave my house without adult supervision.

Does anyone know what I can do about my scar?  It is red and raised and it hurts!  I don't know if it is keloid or hypertrophic.  I just know it hurts.  I have been using Mederma, but it doesn't seem to help much yet.  I have also used Bag-Balm which is making the skin more plyable and less painful.  Has anyone used the silicone products?

Any advice?

I truly don't know where to start to explain my extended absence except that it has been health related.

I don't have the strength right now to explain in detail what all has happened to me over the last few months.  The short version is.... I blew up.  {dramatic pause}

The funny version is that I farted on the inside.  So, I spent a month in the hospital.  Finally, the doctors convinced me to open up and share my inner being.  The wonderful surgeon was successful in removing the bubble and I was lucky enough that the 5 inches of intestine that has been causing me all of the problems for so many years (decades) was that part that blew.  He ended taking about 10 inches of the 26 feet that God designed us to have.

I am on the road to recovery but would appreciate your continued prayers.  My "road" will be slow to travel because I have been so sick for so long that my "bounce back" will be more like a "slow wobble".

I would like to extend a gracious thank you to all of my clients and friends here at HSB.  I have not been able to reply to any emails.  My husband has read several of them to me.  The overwhelming understanding and love was greatly appreciated.  Most everyone immediately understood that no reply from me meant that my health was the only reason that made sense.  The prayers that you all sent in reply to my silence was comforting. 

I don't know when I will be able to program again.  At this time, I don't know when I will be able to do even simple things.  I am just over 2 weeks post operation.  {I will need to have another procedure a few months from now to remove my new belly button.  he he he     You may not want to ask.}

I thank everyone for their continued prayers for my family and the team of doctors and nurses.  The whole event has been in God's hands.  Our faith and devotion has held strong. 

Thank you for your understanding!  I continue to believe that HSB has that best of the best and that my clients are all gems in my life.  May God Bless all of you as He has our family in this time of need.

Ronda 

I regret to announce the death of a beloved friend (well access to beloved friends).... my computer put up a good fight, but finally was unable to go any further.  Some time during the night, while attempting a disk defrag, it succumbed to exhaustion and could go not further.

I hope to be back on line shortly after the new year.  It takes me about 4 days to configure a new system.  I am sorry for any delays that this will cause.  I won't be able to get the new parts until later in the week and then I will start the long process of rebuilding.

Please, everyone... BACK UP YOUR FILES!  It only takes a few minutes to cut a CD/ROM or DVD of your files.  Please, learn from my trouble and save your files.

Praying safety for all during this time of travel and thankful for the blessing of time with family and loved ones....  with Honor to our Lord and Savior,
Ronda

What do you do when your laptop sounds like a coffee grinder?

I think that my harddrive is on borrowed time.  I gave it CPR after it appeared to 'die' a few days ago but I am under the impression that it is not long for this world.  Please pray that it lives until after Christmas.  It is currently a stroke victim.  It has short term memory loss and stumbles when it tries to wake up in the morning.  Many times during the last week, it has been dazed and confused.

Memorial services will be scheduled if it 'dies' again.  But for now, it remains in the 'intensive care' ward in my dining room.  Please also pray for the doctors / technicians who will be working with it during this time of need.

Sorry for any delay that this might cause in my blogging efforts.  I need to make sure that it is resting before I leave the room.  I would hate for it to die while unattended.

Wishing everyone the best and thank you,
Ronda

One setting that you might want to tweak soon is the one that sends you an email message when you get a comment.  Any time a new system is introduced, you need to check to make sure that your settings were migrated or if defaults were applied.  (Don't I sound technical?)

Anyway.... if you want to continue to get emails messages when a comment is posted to your blog....

login
(down by "new entry")  click on "settings"
up toward the top of the tan area, click on "comments"
Look for this line:  Comment Notification
Make sure this one, "Yes, email me each time a comment is posted." is marked.

Feel free to browse this page and change other settings too.
Click the "Save Changes" button at the bottom.

I would like to share my thankfulness for HSB and the staff.  I pray that everyone extends their patience during this time of change.  As you bear with the upgrades, please put some ideas into perspective.

HSB hosts thousands of bloggers.  They freely give all of us a place to post our ideas, share our venting and build relationships with others of like minds.  They freely give us this.  They ask very little of us.

As a computer programmer and systems anaylsis, I understand the process that has been undertaken.

Let me give some perspective... Have you ever bought a new computer with a different operating system?  How did it go moving all of your files and software over to the new system?  Could you quickly get all of your setting on the new machine to your liking?  Now, remember your children's impatience to have their computer back so that they could play games and do school work.  Probably it took several days and a bit of a learning curve.

Now, multiply this by 9317 which is the number of current bloggers at HSB.

Did you always have answers for you children when you were moving to your new computer?  "How long is this going to take you, Mom?"  Did you children want to go to a friend's house so that they could play on a different computer?  Did you get one problem fixed just to find another one pop up? 

Remember when you added a pop-up blocker or antivirsus software to keep those pesky thing away from your system?  It might have blocked some things that you wanted but it keep your system safer.  Java scripting has the potential to contain viruses.  This potential treat to us has been disables.  Some Java scripts have been slowing down the load time for some blogs too.  I (personally) am thinkful that this feature has been disabled.  I will miss my site counter though.  I understand that HSB can't regulate 9000+ blogs for dangerous Java on an individual basis since this effort would need to be done daily.

My point?

I remain very thankful to HSB for the gift that they have given.  I remain patient during their effort to better the gift.  I praise God for the families that are doing the work.  I pray that God will lead them to solutions instead of frustrations.  I also pray that others will join me in patience and in prayer.

Please stand by HSB.  Don't spead rumors or discontent.  We can only ask that people do their best and I am sure that all involved are doing just that.  Please be uplifting and encouraging to staff members and to fellow bloggers.  Let us come together in praise.

just a quick note.... I have three new entries.  One about login to HSB if you are still having problems, one about note taking any new clients until Feb/Mar, and this one.

A short time back, I posted a public apology because I have not been tending to my emails as often as I should.

I guess that this entry is about the why behind my not taking new clients right now.

Those of you who know me, know that I analyse things.  I have noticed a pattern emerge on many Yahoo groups that I subscribe over the years.  There seems to be several times during the years that many ladies post similar issues.  I might be mis-remembering the order, but here is my insight....

In April, everyone is concerned about which curriculum to choose.  They stress over which is better than others and if they are making the correct choices or they are overwhelmed by all of the choices.

In August, many get stressed about money or stressed about buying the wrong books for the year.

In Dec and Jan, many ladies think that they just aren't doing enough to teach their children.  Many start to question the decision to homeschool and talk about enrolling their children in public school.  Several are just at wits end with overscheduled field trips and lack of time.  The theme is ladies wanting to give up. 

If you see this happening on one of your groups, please let the ladies know that these feelings are not limited to their family.  Together, we can support each other and know that these fellings are common.  I am not asking you to minimize the effect that these feelings have on each of us but to understand that it is part of home schooling.  Most of us feel that we can do more.  We want the very best for our children or we would not have made the decisions that we have made.  It is easier to deal with feelings if you understand that you aren't the only one feeling them.

So with that said...  I too am dealing with the Dec/Jan plague.

I feel drained of all energy.  I feel like I am not doing enough teaching.  I feel lost in my own home.  I feel no creativity because I feel no motivation.  I feel an overwhelming compulsioin to clean my home.  I feel like an empty shell.

I understand that it is just this time of year.  The Holidays are filled with energy intensive activity that leave families with little left for self reflection and quiet time.  I feel like crawling into a hole and waiting for Spring.  Maybe, just maybe, I am a tulip! 

So at this time of the year, I am going to not accept any new clients.  I am going to be selfish with my energy and play with my children.

I will contact anyone who has already contacted me about designs.  I plan on working until early January, but I currently have enough projects to fill that time span.  January however is going to be spent working on projects that are in serious need of attention.

Sorry to have such a long post.  Please... if you are also suffering from Dec/Jan plague, please post a comment.  Maybe we could all pray for each other?  Maybe we can share that this is normal / common.