Over the last 8+ months I have spend most of my time and energy on Marty, the girls, and work.  During this time, I have not allowed myself to have much time for me.  It has been so long since I have allowed time for me, I'm not even sure what that means, or what that looks like.

I was counselled yesterday to find emotional outlets.  I need to spend time on hobbies, with friends, recharging my batteries.  Here's the problem.  I don't know what that looks like.  It's been too long since I've taken time for myself.  I know I would feel selfish taking that time away from my girls and Marty.  Intuitively I know that I would be a better mommy and wife if I wasn't running on empty, but it's just too hard to do.

So, over the next week, I am to start (or restart) a hobby and make time for an emotional outlet with friends.  MMMM. . . . Where to begin?

On Thursday night, Marty's inner thigh was a little tender, felt like chaffing.  He got out of bed, felt a little bump, applied Vaseline and went back to bed.


Friday during the day he had no irritation at all.  Friday night we went to a piano bar for dinner and leisure listening.  After about an hour sitting on the bar stools, he complained that it was beginning to be uncomfortable to sit.  Upon getting home I looked at his inner thigh and saw what looked like the start of a small boil, or perhaps a large ingrown hair.


Saturday morning there was significantly more inflammation, perhaps to the size of a ping pong ball.  Saturday night he started running a low grade fever with chills.


Sunday morning I looked at it again and it was about the size of a grapefruit.  I decided we needed to take him into the urgent care facility.  They immediately sent us to the ER saying they weren't equipped to handle an abscess of this size,nor could they administer the type of antibiotics that Marty needed.  I immediately thought that meant Marty would be admitted for IV antibiotic.


We went to the ER (which was CRAZY busy).  About 2 hours later they lanced it, removed a bunch of nasty infection and then packed it with gauze and sent us home with a couple of prescriptions.  We were asked to followup with his primary care physician on Tuesday. I was relieved to know that we didn't have to spend the night at the hospital.


Monday morning made an appointment with Dr. Conover for Tuesday morning.  I called Marty mid-morning to see if I needed to come home at lunch.  He indicated that his dressing was oozing and he thought is should be changed.  I came home to change his dressing.  The infection had spread down his leg and was nearly the size of football.  The discharge papers from teh hospital said to call his doctor if there was additional swelling or redness.  This was definitely additional.  


Dr Conover's office asked him to come right in.  Almost immediately upon looking at the abscess, he ordered Marty to be admitted to the hospital for IV treatment and possibly surgery.  He also asked for a consult from an infectious disease specialist.  We headed home to pack a bag and headed to the hospital.  Marty was resting in his room by 3.


Thankfully the ER sent a culture to the lab on Friday, but results won't be back until today or tomorrow.  Preliminary results is Staph, but the exact strain won't be known for a bit more.  The infectious disease doctor is pretty sure what we are dealing with due to it's aggressive nature.  By the time I left last night the infection was almost to Marty's knee and he was suffering tenderness in his abdomen.  His pain and fever has not been able to be well managed.  The nurse was going to see if they could add something to is IV.  


What a CRAZY event!  Depending on what kind of staph this is, they might actually treat our entire family as it can easily live on the skin and transmit to open wounds on others.  They don't have him isolated now as he's only infectious if you touch something he's touched.  We are washing hands religiously.  I came home last night and wiped down the couches really good where he had been sitting.  I gathered all the laundry to be bleached.  We have no idea where he got it, but we know we don't want it to spread.


To make matters worse, while getting dressed to take Marty to the doctor on Sunday, I pulled a muscle in the back.  I instantly fell to the floor and couldn't get up for over 30 minutes until my back relaxed.  All because I bent over to step into a skirt.  Over the last 2 days it has relaxed significantly but is quite tender.  I'm sure as we hobbled into urgent care and the ER, they couldn't tell who was the patient :)


So, in this crazy year of 2012, this is how we roll.  We are really looking forward to a calm 2013 and we are only half way through this year.

The girls were gone Thursday-Saturday.  I worked a little more than usual due to some work demands.  This left Marty at home alone for very long days.  It's been a few weeks since he's had to do that.  He was quite lonely.  Anyone that knocked on the door, he invited in.


Friday afternoon a salesman for ATD home security systems knocked on the door.  Marty invited him in and offered him water.  The gentleman declined coming in but agreed to a bottle of water.  When Marty handed him a bottle, the gentleman noticed Marty's CTR ring and said, "Oh, your a member".  


Marty said, "A member of what?" 


"A member of the LDS church" 


"yes" 


At that point the salesman agreed to come into our home to further discuss ADT and other things.  During this discussion, Marty learned that Roy is a return missionary attending BYU-Idaho studying pre-med.  He is traveling the country this summer with ADT to pay off the student loans he has and earn money for the rest of his schooling.  Roy noticed the pictures of our daughters and asked about them.  He was very interested in knowing more about Addyson.  He asked if she would be at the singles ward on Sunday.  Marty said he wasn't sure.  Roy was here for about 2 hours on Friday :)


The girls got home from Trek right before dinner on Saturday.  They jumped in the shower to clean up while Marty and I set the table.  During dinner Marty was telling Addyson about Roy and encouraging her to attend the singles ward to meet him.  As we were still talking about Roy, there was a knock at the door.  I answered it.  A nice looking young man was at the door and said he had talked to Marty the day before.  Marty recognized his voice and hollered, "ROY!!! Join us for dinner".  Roy agreed.


We quickly set an extra place at the table.  All three girls were in their PJ's, with wet hair, glasses and no makeup and a strange young man sitting at the table with us.  We had a nice discussion with Roy over dinner.  He's been quite home sick this week.  He said the trees of Arkansas and the rain we've had the last few days has reminded him of home in Oregon.


After dinner he said he hoped to see Addyson in church on Sunday.  He is being transferred to Louisiana Monday so there will be no more dinner appointments with the ADT man.


Dinner with a stranger was strangely comfortable.  It was weird, but not awkward.  I hope dinner with an nice Arkansas family made him a little less homesick and able to finish his summer job so he can finish his college education.


Oh, and we did not buy the ADT plan.