so I wish I could say that all was well but the painkillers finally wore off on Friday night and I wondered if I would have to be back to the emergency room! I walked the floor for several hours and eventually the Aleve began to work and I managed to get a tiny bit of sleep before going to work. But I felt pretty miserable all day. Thomas was home early and fed the animals for me and this morning Dave is off and has agreed to feed them for me this morning. I have been suffering from what we think is a pinched nerve in my left shoulder which may have happened in the awful violent vomiting episode. Also I have a muscle spasm in my lower back...which is not nice but can be controlled for now with back pain pills. If it gets worse the Dr. can get me muscle relaxants. finished pneumonia treatment this morning. But it still hurts to breathe deep. So as you can see I am a mess! I will stop complaining...because in spite of all that is happening, I wanted to be grateful today for the wonderful years I had with my Dad. As many of you know, Dad died in 2006 and even though he was very sick...we were so unhappy to let him go. It is a testament to him that all of us miss him everyday. Dad was a very funny man. He would draw cartoons about happenings at work and present them to his friends. Once he made a child's stool with the lift up back that he carved his buddy's name on it. He then placed it in front of the urinal in the men's room for his friend to find. They had a running joke about his friend being a troll and short. Once I left a half eaten banana on the kitchen counter while I ran upstairs for a minute. Dad picked up a needle and thread nearby and sewed the banana half back into the peel! He ate the whole piece of cake my brother had taken one bite out of and then left the room. He left the bit with my brother's bite on the plate! He acted like the hunchback of Notre Dame whenever I had a boyfriend over...coming down the stairs and declaring his love for the bells! Enough to embarrass us but it rarely did! Needless to say..he was a great Dad and I miss him.

radioactivity!

Tuesday had been the perfect day off. Sunny, breezy, quiet. I did only what I wanted which was watch a baseball game, play with the dogs. I felt pretty terrific physically. Around 9:30 I began to feel nauseous. I also began to vomit..I know..TMI..but it is important to note that I rarely if ever do that. It was so violent and painful that I couldn't breathe. Then my left shoulder felt like it was on fire. I am not a baby about pain. I rarely need doctors. But this was literally some of the worse pain I have ever felt. I tried to call out to my son, Thomas, but couldn't..so I called him on my cell phone!!! Now I think I can justify having the cell phone. He ran out and saw me, immediately called 911 and was really there for me. The police and paramedics were fast! They are after all in the new building just down the street. Funny how modesty goes out the window. These guys were great. They transported me to the hospital and Thomas followed, after he had let the dogs in and left a note for his dad. Hubby was on the road from work. They found out I had a pneumositis in my lungs...kind of pneumonia but not quite. So on meds for that. My EKGs were fine, blood pressure fine, I was sent home at 5am..but taking no chances, at 11:40am...I was injected with radioactive tracers and scanned for 15 minutes, then a stress test and more tracers and another scan. 2 and 1/2 hours later..I was home. The shoulder has quit hurting..thanks to good drugs. But the ribs are sore and the chest too. Feels like someone hit me with a baseball bat! Monday I go to the cardiologist where he will read the scans. Here is hoping there is nothing blocked. Needless to say..I couldn't teach Will this week and I am taking Thursday off too and part of Monday. Hope I feel up to work on Friday, Sat, and Sunday. But they are ok if I am not up to snuff. So what I learned...I have no family history of heart disease, diabetes,etc. every question they asked sounded like my Hubby's family not mine! My blood pressure stays pretty much at 115 over 80 all of the time, even in the throes of pain! I am as healthy as the proverbial ox..yet here I was in the ER. I was sure I was having a major heart attack and I kept thinking..but I have more art to do! I have new BFFs in the form of nice young paramedics and male nurses and kind doctors. My son Thomas can be counted on to take care of things in an emergency. Usually it is Shane we go to but Thomas was so fabulous. What a great kid. My limit for laying still in a scanner with my arms above my head is 15 minutes! The second 15 minutes..I itched, had the heebie jeebies, had a hard time shutting off the brain. My poor Hubby is pretty useless in an emergency, but he cooked dinner last night! I never want to go through this again..the end!

This is my workshop painting done. Ian Ramsay was the teacher. Slowed me down. Made me want to do more traditional.al paintings.