The New Lizard Lounge

[MinnieSummer]

I forgot to mention that my moms knees were replaced over 20 years ago. They are still doing fine so yours, being of a better quality, should last forever.

Cheers to your friends for putting up your decorations. That should help your spirits before and after your surgery. It's so nice to know that there are still caring and loving individuals in this world. That in itself is a Christmas Blessing.

 

[ead79]

Angel, I certainly don’t mind you sharing about your surgery. I’m glad that you’ll be able to live without all the pain. Thanks for the spread with pumpkin bread too—I LOVE pumpkin bread!

Goofysmuse, nice to see you! Here’s a little dose of holiday cheer for you!

 

[Nancyg56]

Hi Angel: I'm sorry to hear about your upcoming surgery, but I know that the pain will be gone after the healing. I worked with a woman who suffered for years with pain in her knees, and she was like a new person after the surgery. She really wished that she had it done earlier, but it was a difficult decision. If you are up to sharing, please let us know how you are doing, and we can pass well wishes to you.

How nice that you are going to have help decorating for Christmas. I think that this type of support is the best kind of present! Try not to wear yourself out before hand....what is not done will be fine....and I doubt that your staff will let you down. to you!

Minniesummer: Holiday wishes to you! I keep telling myself that I should get a head start decorating for the Holidays, so that I am not driving my family out of the house as I tend to become a whirling dervish when I decorate. Kinda loses the spirit, so I am going to use the Lizards as an inspiration to start earlier.

Goofysmuse I'm happy to share some cheer, and would love some sent my way if you have any to spare.

Well ladies, I have a lovely Lithuanian cordial that my MIL used to make around the holidays that I would like to set out. It will be a nice finish to Angel's treats, as it is spiced with cinnamon, and cherries.....just like Christmas. Enjoy!

 

[MinnieSummer]

Angel: Please keep us posted on your progress. But until we hear from you I'm sure everyone will be sending prayers and PD your way.

Nancyg56: Not only am I decorating early, I also decided to rearrange my whole house. I've moved out the family room furniture -- it is now in the living room. My Living room furniture is half on it's way to Goodwill and half moved into the family room. My daughters room is completely re-done and my dining room is getting the treatment next. All within the last two weeks. I think I'm nuts. Of course the furniture that is now in the family room is going to have to be re-upholstered so in the next week I've got to find fabric and my staple gun, glue gun and batting. UUGGHH. But it will definitely look better when it's all done.

The christmas garlands are hung over the windows and sliding doors and the collection of Holiday Minnie and Mickeys is out of storage on in place but that's as far as I've got with the decorating. Hope yours goes well.

I think we all need some Christmas Wassail so I'll put some out. Cheers.

 

[Nancyg56]

Minniesummer: I am definately going to hold you up as a model for me. I have to decorate the weekend following Thanksgiving, as we are leaving January 1st for AKL!!!!! The tree needs to be down before I go because we use a live tree. I think I will decorate the bedrooms and the bathroom this week, but I love the falll decor for THanksgiving.

I gotta share this....My oldest son has never had a "real" girlfriend. He never said much, but I think he was getting a little lonely, and he had gotten a little sharp. I never said much (I was on the banned for life list along with my DS for fixing him up with the dates from Hades). Well he brought home a lovely girl a few weeks ago, and is bringing her to Thanksgiving dinner. This is a huge deal, as she will meet his Meme. She is my first husbands Mom, and I think that she is lovely...but she drives my kids nuts. I have wanted him to find a special person who likes to spend time with, and she finds him amusing! I know that I am being silly, but since I cannot pester him, (learned that one the hard way) I need to be a fanatic here. Thanks for listening, and for the Cheer. Gathering up some decorations now......

 

[teentoddlermom]

Angel 16, good luck to you. I haven't posted or lurked on this thread for months and don't know much about you, but I'll echo that you're right to do both at once! My mom(age 76) just had one done, needs the other one done, and is now considering living with the pain, and having one leg now longer that the other (when the arthritic knee gets replaced, the leg gets straightened out and is longer!) just because she dosen't want to go through the surgery, hospital, recovery etc, again!!!
She went through it with flying colors with a superior hospital and surgeon, but just does not want to go through it again, and she really wishes she could have had both done together! Good luck and good thoughts your way!

 

[Steph H]

Angel: It sounds like a tough decision to make, but I'm sure you're making the right one. I'll keep you in my thoughts, and yes, please do let us know how things are going.

Hope everyone else is doing well! I miss you all, but the holiday season is so hectic. One of my coworkers is going to Disney in January, and she has me longing for the days of the Sugar Loaf... Oh, and it was a rather mind-numbing 17 degrees when I woke up this morning, so that has me longing for the Florida heat and humidity, if you can believe it.

Hugs to all!

 

[Angel16]

Thank you all so much for the wonderful words of wisdom and shared success stories of people who have had total knee replacement. You have no idea how much that means to me. When you are looking at something like this you can’t help but second-guess yourself.

My first doctor’s experience was very positive. My regular primary care MD was in the office when I arrived and didn’t know why her staff had not booked me with her. She said she wanted to see me. It is much better to have a surgical work up with a physician that is familiar with you and your health. They did an EKG and pumonary function test. Both of which were normal. Boy I have a lot of hot air. I blew their numbers off the charts.

Now I need to see a cardiologist and have blood work done and a chest x-ray. Just need to get it done in the next three weeks.

Elizabeth - Your trip is coming up here shortly. Woo Hoo You and your DH certainly deserve a break. Hope you are doing great. Got any special Thanksgiving plans?

Goofy’s Muse - You have been in my thoughts since your post. Hope everything is going well for you. I am going to copy sweet Elizabeth’s great idea and send you some extra holiday cheer.

Minnie summer - I am so glad your mom knees are doing great. Usually total knee surgery is for people who are either athletes (which I am not) or people in their older years (which I certainly am not!!!!!) Medical science is advancing so quickly. Years ago people would have been bedridden.

Nancy 56 - Your Lithuanian cordial spiced with cinnamon, and cherries.....Yummy It sounds wonderful! Too bad we can’t really try it; I bet it would be perfect with Christmas cookies and pain pills. Hope everything is working out for your son and his new girlfriend. What a magical time of year to have a new romance and friendship. You are certainly welcome to come the lounge and share and be a “fanatic” if you wish.

teentoddlermom - First Welcome to the Lizards Lounge. We are a really great group of people who enjoy everything Disney and support each other in our joys, triumphs and problems. Grab a soft comfy seat and join us.
Second, thank you for sharing your mothers’ experience. That is part of the reason I am having both knees done at the same time. The other reason is I really don’t want to be off from work for 2-3 months more than once.

Steph H - Remember to take some time for yourself, you’re important too. The holidays can be hectic, but we must remember the true reason for them. Enjoy your family and have fun. All the “things” are way less important. I noticed in your signature line you don’t have far to go before that new little one will be here. Sending you Pd and a soft tummy pat.

Have a great week end everyone. . Sending warm wishes to all who are part of this lounge and lurking. Know you are missed!

Angel

 

[MinnieSummer]

Okay, Nancy56, I let you down. I did no decorating this weekend. It was horrible I just couldn't get in the mood to go up in the attic to bring the rest of the stuff down (over 50 boxes is quite intimidating). So I shopped instead. My DD went ice skating with a friend and I had the whole afternoon off while my husband cut dead branches off a tree (they had been damaged in Wilma). Shopping was definitely better than bringing down the boxes.

But I have a story to tell. I can never hear my cell phone when it rings and I'm in a store. Then if I do hear it I can never find it before it stops ringing. Finally if I do find it I'm usually standing in a store and can't talk to whoever is calling me. SOOOOOO, on Saturday night I'm in the frozen food section of my grocery store. I HEAR MY PHONE, FIND IT and ANSWER IT all before it stops ringing. Low and behold I'm standing in the exact right spot to have reception and can talk with the caller. It's my father's oncologist. I haven't said much about him lately but we had a pretty big scare last week as he had had a stomach ache for over 10 days and not told anyone. When I found out I convinced hom to call his MD and they scheduled an emergency CAT scan to see what was going on. Of course we all assumed the tumors were growing at a faster rate again. The can was on Thursday and I had called on Friday a.m. to see if the results were in and to ask that the MD call me when he got them so I could schedule my flight up there. So anyway there I am in Albertson's at 8:00 at night on Saturday with a cell phone in my hand realizing that this is the call I've been waiting for (dreading actually). And the MD says he has just recieved the radiologist report and that he hasn't had a chance to look at the film himself but "the report says the scan shows NO DISCERNABLE GROWTH". I don't remember the rest of the conversation (I have to call him today to thank him because I don't know if I did or not). I hung up yelled (literally) hooray, did a little dance of joy, said a prayer of thanks, then burst into tears. If anyone was in the same aisle with me they are convinced that I am a candidate for a straight jacket. Anyway, this means that, very possibly, my parents will be in WDW with us for Christmas. Of course I won't be able to go there for New Years as planned but I'd much rather have them here.

 

[Nancyg56]

Minniesummer: :thewave: :thewave: The Angels are listening to you! You just shared a wonderful gift, and it is so much better than decorating (I didn't do any either, I washed windows and trim) I am so happy for your family, and will continue to keep all of you in my prayers, your Dad is proof that they work. Keep us posted,
,
Nancy

 

[Angel16]

Minniesummer - What Fantastic news ! That is a great Thanksgiving answer to prayer.
I am so very happy for you. I imagine decorating will be a little easier now. You and your entire family are in my prayers. Sending pd too.

 

[Angel16]

Good Afternoon Everyone. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

Did anyone brave the Friday sales? I have a friend who got up at 11:00 PM the night of Thanksgiving after a 2 hour nap and headed to our local military PX for their sales. She was there from midnight to 3:00 AM. Got great deals on MP3 players, dishes and a DVD player for her son. I just don't have that kind of shopping gene.

How did everyone else do?


Angel

 

[ead79]

Angel, I’m glad to hear that your health reports are all good. I know you’ll be much better once you’ve got your new knees!

We did a little shopping at a local outlet mall, but nothing too involved. We basically only went to 4 of the stores at the outlet mall since we didn’t really want to brave the crowds too much. It wasn’t too bad at all, and now we’ve got some good gifts for my mom.

MinnieSummer, what FANTASTIC news!!!!! I know you must be beyond thrilled! Enjoy your special time with your parents.

 

[MinnieSummer]

I'm sooo sorry!! I just got to a computer and I'm reading all these wonderful posts of excitement about my dad and here I am in PA. My dad had to have major surgery yesterday and the news isnt very good. Apparently the CAT scan didn't reveal everything. His small intestine is totally blocked and they couldn't get to the tumor because the rest of the intestine was so distended the surgeon was afraid he would puncture it and have a whole different problem so he bridged the stomach to an illeostomy (I have no idea if that is the correct spelling). We don't know what comes next except that if we had done nothing he would have starved to death because he couldn't swallow. Apparently there was no place for the waste to go (too much info sorry). He is able to eat now and we are hopeful but all we can do is place this in His hands and hope that His plans for my dad won't let him suffer further. (or my mother).

God bless all of you for your prayers, cheers, and of course Pixie Dust.

Pamela

 

[Nancyg56]

Oh Pamela, I am so sorry. I will continue to pray for your family, and keep all of you in my thoughts. I know that He will pass His blessing onto all of you.
Nancy

 

[Angel16]

Pamela, I am so very sorry. You and your entire family are in my prayers. It is so wonderful that both your mom and dad have you there. It is such a stressful time for everyone. Please remember to take care of yourself too.

Sending prayers, thoughts and a big

Angel

 

[Goofy's Muse]

Goofy’s Muse - You have been in my thoughts since your post. Hope everything is going well for you. I am going to copy sweet Elizabeth’s great idea and send you some extra holiday cheer.

Gosh, I am an awful correspondent! Thanks for you kind thoughts, Angel. I'm doing OK... just a little out of step this season, I guess. I lost my mom right after Christmas last year, so the approach of the holidays is a bit more bittersweet than usual this year. I'm trying to focus on the important and cut back on those unessentials that bring more stress than joy. I've already begun listening to the Candlelight Processional CD we purchased during our trip last December. (OK... I confess... I've listened to it on and off all year, but now I get to "officially " enjoy it! )

Just wanted to send some extra prayers and pixie dust to MinnieSummer. From experience I do know how very tough it is to be an adult daughter...

 

[MinnieSummer]

I'm back in Florida again. I know I left to soon but I couldn't risk losing my job so I'm sitting in the office calling MD's offices trying to get things sorted out. They sent my father home yesterday morning. I was able to get him home and situated then had to leave to catch my plane. Now I find out that the order for a visiting nurse, who was supposed to start today, wasn't given and I've got to get that straightened out. I'm waiting for return phone calls from three MD's now to see if any of them will get the ball rolling and get the nurse out there pronto. I've talked to the Health center that will send the nurse and they are going to schedule but they can't dispatch until they get the order. My mother is in tears and my father is being brutal to her, but I know it's because he is scared and in pain. My mom knows that to but she is also scared and in pain. I want to go back but I can't -- anyway, you all don't need to hear this but I appreciate having a place to vent. You can ignore further posts as I understand that it is close to the holidays and this isn't exactly what you want to hear.

On the positive side, I am supposed to be going to WDW this weekend to visit with my BIL. He and his wife will be there all next week so we are planning to go up and see them Saturday and Sunday. Somehow it doesn't seem right to be planning something fun when my parents are going through so much but I know they wouldn't want me sitting around crying (which is pretty much all I'm doing).

Bye for now.

Pamela

 

[Goofy's Muse]

... On the positive side, I am supposed to be going to WDW this weekend to visit with my BIL. He and his wife will be there all next week so we are planning to go up and see them Saturday and Sunday. Somehow it doesn't seem right to be planning something fun when my parents are going through so much but I know they wouldn't want me sitting around crying (which is pretty much all I'm doing)...

If you do get a chance to go, MinnieSummer, do it! My DH and I were reminiscing this morning as it is exactly one year since our "impulsive Disney family weekend". I was in a similar position to you... living at a distance from my aging, ailing parents whose needs were rapidly outstripping my ability to handle them. Somehow I just felt compelled to take that trip to Disney and I must say that the sheer joy and indulgence of the trip gave me the energy to deal with the challenges that were to come. I wish you well with your parents... prayers and pixie dust to you and just remember to care for yourself as well as them...

 

[TammiMcMan]

My gosh, I've been so busy with family stuff, but it looks like I have lots of catching up to do here.

Angel, sorry about your knees. That is a tough decision. My husband had some calcium build ups in his years ago and had to have surgery. One thing that we have found is that the best ortho's seem to be those involved in the sports field.


Minniesummer, what an emotional rollercoaster you've been on lately. Sounds like you need to refresh yourself and a weekend visit with your BIL and his wife seems like a great idea. It's okay to step away for a few minutes and recharge yourself.

Goofy's Muse, I admit that I "officially" took out my Candlelight Processional CD and have been listening to it for the past few weeks too. I'm trying to somehow jump start myself to get into the spirit of the holiday. This will be the first one without my dad and it is a little tough. Plus I think it's the transition in my kids ages. We don't have little ones anymore, so the whole Santa thing is changing. I'm trying to make it less about the gifts and more about family.

Speaking of family, ours desperately needs some Disney downtime. We have been going non-stop it seems since October. Oldest DD decided to transfer to a closer college this year and we have her back at home. I didn't realize how much I missed having her around. Youngest DD is a pop warner cheerleader and anyone reading the resorts board lately knows that their finals are this week in Disney. Well, DD's team made it up to regionals before they were bumped out. At the same exact time though, my DS was competing at regionals for ice dancing. His nationals were going to be held in Denver just a few days before the pop warner nationals in Orlando. For about 2 weeks, DH and I weren't sure if we'd have to split up and go in two opposite directions with each child. Unfortunately for DD, her team didn't move on from regionals and we all got to go to Denver. DS and his partner did great and ended up winning the US National juvenile dance gold medal. It was so exciting for them and they even got interviewed, article #1 and article #2. Comcast was there filming with Nancy Kerrigan and I guess it's going to be on local cable stations this month.

Now I have to get my butt in gear and start decorating. I have one string of lights up in the window and a few ceramic pieces on the table, but that's it.

Best wishes for anyone that I missed.