The EEG

Steve-patient
Originally uploaded by Gem-Em.

Steve got to wear a 21-probe EEG this weekend, and was he ever ready to get it off on Tuesday morning!


He wore a ballcap to work on Monday, but some of the gauze on his forehead was still visible. He didn't make a big show of it, and the front desk lady at his office actually asked his assistant if he'd had a hair transplant!


Here he reluctantly poses for a picture for me. Originally, he joked about doing a video for the blog lip-synching Mr. Roboto, but the EEG got old quickly.

Still no word on the results. Thanks for everyone's good thoughts & prayers!

Philly, again

I had to fly in tonight because my meeting begins so early tomorrow. I hate leaving Steve, but at least his best friend Cris is on stand-by and I'll be back tomorrow evening.

I had a great cabbie tonight from the airport. Sometimes, I want to be left in silence, but other times it's nice to chat. He said he's originally from South Carolina, and he remarked that I don't sound like I'm from Texas. I explained my dad is from England and my mom from Texas, and my accent is a mixture. He asked where I'm from. "Where am I from...?" I repeated. There's not really a good answer to that. So, I just said, "New York," which is true, I WAS born there. I just haven't lived there in 33 years or so.

The view from my hotel is great. I can see a part of the city, and the next building over has a dome like the Capitol building. And I'm happy to not be right next to the elevator. But I will miss Steve's soft snoring. I know, I'm crazy, but it lets me know he's relaxed and sleeping and makes me feel safe.

A Funny and An Update

Last weekend, Steve felt up to taking a short road trip down to Waco to visit my great aunt Sudie and my grandmother. Sudie celebrated her 92nd birthday on Friday, and I wanted to take her out for lunch on Saturday to recognize this accomplishment. There's nothing she likes better for a present than a visit.

Sudie's mind is slipping slightly -- I can now easily beat her in Scrabble, when in the past she was a force to reckon with -- but she is so happy. She laughs a lot and doesn't let things get to her. Her hearing is also not as sharp as it once was, and at one point during lunch, when the waiter didn't take her plate, she mentioned to me that she was done, too.

I said, "His hands are full," explaining why he hadn't taken her plate.
She said, "He had to cancel?"
I repeated, "No, I said, his HANDS ARE FULL."
She laughed, "Oh! I thought you said he had to cancel."
Grandma pipes in, "What? Who has a hamster?"

***********

We don't have any results back yet from Steve's tests. He stayed at the sleep clinic on Tuesday night, hooked up to dozens of electrodes. He didn't sleep well. The next day, Wednesday, he had his echocardiogram, and while the technician couldn't give him a diagnosis, he was able to point out different structures like the aorta and his heart valves that were working properly. Thursday was his carotid ultrasound, and again the technician was as helpful as possible, telling Steve he had "beautiful blood vessels." (I think maybe she was flirting with my guy.)

This weekend he's going to be hooked up to the EEG for 72 hours. Should be interesting!

Distracted

Several of you have posted comments regarding Steve. I wish I had some news of note to share.

We are still not sure what's going on with him. After spending another harrowing evening in the emergency room last Thursday, we are more stressed but have no more answers. His symptoms are strange and could point to a number of different conditions. Nothing quite seems to fit, though, and so far all test results (CAT scan, MRI, EKG) are negative.

He had an appointment this morning with a neurologist, and finally, it seems like someone is listening! I'm thankful that she seems to be asking the right questions and has suggested numerous other tests. He's scheduled for a "sleepover" tomorrow night for them to monitor his brainwaves, an echocardiogram on Wednesday, a carotid ultrasound on Thursday, and a portable EEG monitor starting on Saturday and running for 72 hours. I'll let you know when I know more.

It's so hard to concentrate on anything when the person you love the most isn't feeling well.

Yes, it snowed in Dallas!

It snowed last night! It's very pretty, even if it's only sticking to inanimate objects. (I guess the ground is still too warm.) I tried to drive to work this morning, but it was way too slick. The snow and ice had also backed up the highway, and no one was moving. I turned it around and worked "virtually" from home.

Steve has been here all day, too, but he's not working. He doesn't have the ability to work virtually for his job, but it's good for him to have some down time. He's still not feeling great. We were supposed to get some test results back today, but the staff didn't show up at the doctor's office because of the weather. Hopefully, we'll know more tomorrow...

I think the best part about working from home is having my cat Sabrina snuggled up to my side. She's hardly left me all day, and my left leg is nice and warm from her closeness.

The worst part about working from home are the hours and hours of phone calls. I had so many meetings today that got turned into conference calls. It's much better to have those in person, when you HAVE to have meetings, that is.

I enjoyed my short trip to Philly, although I was plagued with delays both ways. I was very disappointed in how many rude people I encountered on this trip, though. From the security personnel on a power trip to the taxi dispatchers I called, the nastiness was unpleasant, ugly and not necessary!

Winter Wonderland

Dallas got a winter storm yesterday, and Steve and I decadently stayed in our pajamas all day! We kept warm with a nice fire and watched movies, played Scrabble, and ate chili. We watched the rain and noticed the icicles growing off the patio. Last night, I heard little tapping noises, and realized it was sleet hitting the skylights.

Today, I braved the icy roads to get to the airport. Although the first flight to Philly was cancelled, the second one is only delayed an hour. Driving in, all the bare trees look beautiful, decorated as they are with ice. However, I didn't enjoy the ice so much on my windshield. Thankfully, I have a great scraper from my dad, and Steve came out to help me. Even the car doors were glued shut with ice!

My Dog/Cat Personality

My friend Lisa had this on her blog. I love animals, and although I'm slightly allergic to dogs, I enjoy my friends' and family's dogs, so I wasn't surprised to learn my combo:

You Are: 70% Dog, 30% Cat

You and dogs definitely have a lot in common. You're both goofy, happy, and content with the small things in life. However, you're definitely not as needy as the average dog. You need your down time occasionally.

Are You More Cat or Dog?

I had a dream

In a recent dream (nightmare?), for some inexplicable reason, I had to tell someone I was in a relationship with my old boyfriend. I felt forced to admit this, even though everything within me rebelled against the idea.

When I awoke, I felt so relieved that it was a dream and that I'm now in a relationship in which I truly feel appreciated. Steve recognizes my gifts and is very supportive and complimentary of them.

Health update: Steve is still having "episodes," with the new addition of a vision symptom. His eyes are slow to adjust to light or distance changes. He had another doctor's appointment this morning. More to come...

Too Much Tuna

Yesterday, Steve went to his doctor, who diagnosed his bout as scombroid poisoning. Named for the Scombridae family of fish -- mainly tuna and mackerel -- it is a type of food intoxication caused by the consumption of these fish species that have begun to spoil with the growth of particular types of food bacteria. Symptoms can occur within minutes to 2 hours of injestion. Since we did eat quite a bit of tuna at our sushi dinner on Friday, this is the likely culprit. When Steve queried why I hadn't also gotten sick, he said each person's immune system responds uniquely at different times, and I must have had a stronger immune response at that time.

While he was doing that, I was travelling for 10 hours (up and back) for a 2 hour meeting in Philly. Seems a bit much, I know, but we learned today that we won that business! Unfortunately, that means I'm due back there next Monday, and tomorrow I'm headed to Atlanta for yet another new business pitch.

What's Been Happening

Okay, okay...I know I've been out of commission for awhile. Sorry. Here's what happened while I wasn't blogging:

We spent Christmas in Houston with my parents, Stephanie, Al and the twins. Steve was sad to not be with his kids, and his ex continues to make things difficult.

The Saturday before New Year's, we had two couples over for a nice lamb dinner and great wine. New Year's Eve itself was spent quietly at home. Neither one of us felt 100% due to a cold.

Work has started back with a bang. It seems that all my clients want to have meetings the first two weeks of January to get new projects kicked off. Unfortunately, I still have too many accounts and can't be everywhere at once! I went to NYC last Wednesday through Friday while my new employee Scott handled another client in Dallas. Tomorrow, he's headed to Cincinnati for another one, while I go to Philly for a new client meeting. I'm trying to think positively: at least I get to keep all my frequent flier miles!

While I was in NY, I couldn't get internet access! It was very frustrating because in addition to blogging, I really needed to get some work email. I finally was able to purchase a day pass at LaGuardia airport and download my email while standing by for an earlier flight. My computer was low on battery, so I plugged in to an available outlet and sat down on the floor to work. Sometimes, you gotta do what you gotta do...

Friday night, when I got back from NY (fortunately on that earlier flight, but unfortunately stuck in a middle seat between two big men for 3.5 hours), Steve and I met at a sushi restaurant for a nice dinner. Just as we were finishing, Steve had a strange episode. I'm still not sure exactly how to describe it. He said it felt like a wave coming over him from the bottom half of his body up. For a brief moment, he couldn't swallow, move or think. Then he got very flushed followed by very pale. We were close to an Emergency Room and took him there. On the way, he started to shake uncontrollably. The only thing different in his life lately has been a new medication he started on the 1st. It's an antifungal for a persistent skin infection he has on his back and legs.

After a CT scan of his head and an EKG, several blood tests and a brief neurological exam, they ruled out anything major. Steve had those shakes on and off for the first hour or so we were there. They gave him Atavan for the anxiety he was feeling, and that helped to calm him down.

Although they weren't able to give us a definitive answer to why his body was doing what it was, they were able to tell us it wasn't his heart or anything neurological. That was some relief. They are assuming it was a bad reaction to the antifungal medicine. We were discharged around midnight.

Today he's feeling better, and he plans to go to his doctor tomorrow. I'm just thankful I was here with him. He said it was my "wifely duty" to be there with him, and I reminded him there's no ring on this finger (pointing to my left hand)!

Yesterday, my grandmother called, saying she and my great aunt Sudie had gotten a ride with some volunteer group to Dallas and were coming to see their sister, my great aunt Bess, who lives in a nursing home here. I went and spent a couple hours with them, sharing pictures from my computer of Christmas and all my nieces and nephews.

Today, I have to finish taking down my Christmas decorations, do laundry, read my email (202 unread at this point), run some errands, and have dinner with my best friend and her family. Oh, and Steve would like to go see a movie.

I'm so tired, I barely dragged myself out of bed this morning at 10:30!

Far from Home, Close in Heart

Steve's dad, Frank, is in Iraq for the third time. He works as an employee of the federal government, working with the military, and his job is to troubleshoot mechanical problems on the equipment. He's on a base in Baghdad.

He calls Steve when he can, and he's reported that they are experiencing almost constant mortaring, much more than he heard on his previous trips. Yesterday, he called Steve and told him they were under heavy ground fire. He said they knocked out communications on the base for a long while and that two GI's were hit with mortar rounds on the base today but are still alive. He said they keep having black outs on the base to avoid being targeted during the night hours.

I know there are thousands of families like us that are riveted to the television when news of the Iraq war is played. It seems even more difficult to be separated by the war during Christmas.

It's Friday!

It's so nicely quiet here at the office. That is, except for the kids who were brought to work since daycare is closed. :-)

One of our newer employees made the comment the other day that we've had more holiday parties/lunches/happy hours than every place he's ever worked added together! (He's young, so he probably hasn't worked many places, but still...) Everyone is in a festive mood, even though the weather has been unseasonably warm. And we work so hard during the year, it's a good time to show our appreciation for their great work.

Our new building has some new features, some good and some that just take getting used to. Most of the windows on my floor face West, and the Texas sunsets have been spectacular to view. We have a parking garage, which I like as protection against spring hail storms and shade in the hot summer, and you have to have a security card to open the doors to the elevator and into our suite. One tricky thing is the bathrooms are located outside our suite, so you have to remember to take your card with you to get back in!

Janet, my BF, and her daughter Annie, my goddaughter, are coming up today to see my new digs and then we're all going to lunch. Annie just had all four wisdom teeth out, and she's milking the sympathy! (She's doing well and has good painkillers.)

Travel Hell

I left the office Monday night and headed to the airport, as I was scheduled for a 7:30 flight to Cincinnati.

After a lovely (?) meal at the airport, they made an announcement that the plane was delayed 3 hours. It would now be arriving in Cinci at 2 a.m.! I decided to take a flight in the morning instead and have a nice sleep in my own bed. The only catch was I didn't get my checked luggage back. It went on to Cinci with all my toiletries and my special pillow. (I have a bad neck, and my pillow makes a huge difference in my comfort. This was the first time I decided to take it on a trip with me. Oh well!)

I stopped by the grocery store on the way home and picked up some make-do make-up. Steve was happy to have me home, even though I did have to get up early the next morning for another flight.

Since I had packed my black suit, I decided to wear my brown one. That is, until I clumsily splattered small droplets of the make-up I had just bought on the pants. Argh...it wasn't coming out, so I wore my last available suit.

Got to the airport on time, checked the monitors, and guess what? FLIGHT CANCELLED due to mechanical failure. Oh, geez.

I was able to catch a flight to Dayton, which is where I needed to end up that afternoon anyway. (I had a meeting in Cinci in the morning and was driving down with a colleague from there to a pitch in Dayton. I obviously missed the morning meeting, but I did finally make it to the pitch!)

The pitch was in the smallest, warmest conference room ever. There were 12 people crammed around a table, and the heat was almost unbearable. Our presentation was good, but the main decision maker was doing the slow blinks of sleepiness.

And, not to be outdone, our returning flight was delayed an hour. I finally got back to Dallas and found my luggage, which had travelled its own path to Cinci and back without me, and climbed into bed at 11 p.m.

Draggin'

Can you believe Christmas is just a week away?

It sure doesn't feel like it in Dallas. It's been 75-80* here! Crazy. My new office, on the other hand, is as cold as a meat locker. I'm hoping we can get that adjusted to something more normal once all the construction is complete.

Steve and I were pretty sedate this past weekend. Steve is recovering from a cold, and I must be fighting it off because my energy has been really low. We did get our Christmas shopping complete. Steve's list sure is a lot simpler than mine: his kids and me. We also picked out frames for his new glasses. We were suprised to realize he had gotten his prescription in October. How time flies! (I'll post a picture of him with his new specs once he gets them home. He says he can turn in his walking stick now.)

We are sending out cards. We finally picked out a picture and are getting them created. They are supposed to be ready tomorrow or Wednesday. I hope they get to England on time!

New Digs

Well, I almost got choked up leaving the office yesterday for the last time. Since joining the company 6 and a half years ago, I had a lot of memories in that building. I've grown a lot, too.

The drive took me an hour and 15 minutes as expected. I now have an OFFICE with a WINDOW. Although the window overlooks a concrete courtyard, if you lean over, you can see trees. Most everyone is happy and excited about the new digs, and people are busy milling around, finding where others are sitting and eating the breakfast our owners set out for us.

Plus, we have a parking garage, and they're building a gym in the building that we will have free access to. Not bad!

Long time no post

Yes, I'm still alive. [in response to Stephanie's call]

I've just been busy with all the changes going on here (mostly work-related) and didn't think you'd want to read another post about my busy work!

We are moving offices, to a new building across town. We have completely outgrown our current facilities, and because we are adding another 24 or so new employees before the end of the year, we MUST move now to accommodate them. We have no additional space in this building or in the parking lot, which has become quite competitive just to get a space.

I'm in the first of three waves of the move, and my stuff will be relocated on Tuesday night. I've packed up the majority of my things, but I still have more to do today.

I'm excited about the new space and about the fact that I get a window office, but the new location is so much further from my home. I'm estimating on a good day, it will take me 75 minutes to drive there.

So, Steve and I continue to work on the house and hope to move closer into town. We nearly killed ourselves this weekend with yard and pool work, and we met with realtors Saturday afternoon. We are hoping to get from them a condensed list of what needs to be done to sell as well as a market analysis and estimated sale price.

When I think about that drive, I'm ready to move now.

Gettin' Lovins in Houston

Posting from Houston, where I arrived last night. My bro-in-law Al, my mom and the twins came to pick me up. Paige and Graham kept saying "Auntie Emily! Auntie Emily!" in a singsong voice. It was great. I got BIG hugs and whopper kisses, too.

Today, we helped Steph decorate the outside of her house. She is SERIOUS about her decorations! Every year, she finds new additions after the season (on sale). She has three gingerbread houses with six gingerbread kids, two snowmen, two lighted garlands, a blow-up snow globe and a blow-up penguins with candy canes. Then there are wreaths and additional lights sprinkled throughout the front yard.

Steph is still recuperating from last week's hospital stay, but she is in good spirits. Tomorrow, more family is coming in to join in her annual Christmas Tea, ladies only. Should be fun!

Week in Review

I've been trying to think of something good to write all week. I haven't thought of much.

First, my sister Stephanie was in the hospital with kidney stones. She's fine now, but that is so very painful. And I feel like that is more her place to tell the story.

Work is busy, but that's hardly new.

It was unseasonably warm early in the week, and last night, a big cold front came through. Today we had ice, sleet and snow. I looked outside at one point, and the snow was swirling all around with the wind. It looked like I was in a snow globe!

One new thing I'm trying this week is based on an article I read, "What does it take to lead a happier life?" Researchers are studying how to increase happiness, and the article refers to a simple exercise: every night, think of three good things that happened that day and analyze why they occurred.

It's a bit like the Gratitude Journal that was made popular by Oprah and Sarah Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance, a few years ago. The thing I like about this exercise is the analysis of why those things happened.

On Monday, one of my good things was this snuggly baby I got to hold at the hospital. My analysis of why this happened? Because I volunteer. That made me give credit to myself and realizing how much I get out of giving.

Anyway, I figure it can't hurt, and who knows? It might just increase my happiness level.

A Good Start

Everything went well!

The kids arrived on Wednesday night, and we went out to a Japanese hibachi restaurant. Steve's son Declan was very comfortable around me, acting like he sees me all the time. (We met in February.) His daughter Hayden was shy as Steve had predicted. She only spoke to him through dinner, and I tried to make comments, to which she would politely smile and then turn back to him.

Thursday was the Big Day, and I started by cooking the pies. The kids helped peel the apples for the apple pie, and Hayden helped me with the stuffing. Otherwise, I was pretty much on my own. I didn't want to make them help if they didn't want to. I was also really missing my sisters and parents. We usually are all in the kitchen talking and preparing together.

The kids were thrilled about the shrimp cocktail, which I served in martini glasses. They tried everything, including my family recipes for spinach casserole, turnips & carrots and Chachie's cranberry relish.

On Friday, Steve took the kids to a museum and bowling. I went shopping by myself and almost got my whole Christmas list done! We met back at the house for dinner. I made a cheese fondue appetizer (big hit) and turkey pot pie (also enjoyed). Later, Hayden helped me wrap some gifts, and we had a great talk.

Saturday was a short day with the kids as they headed back to Albuquerque that afternoon. We had a nice breakfast together and some shopping. They were so sad to say goodbye to their dad, and he is still sad at having to say goodbye to them.

Getting Ready

This Thursday is Thanksgiving, and instead of the usual big family get-together, Steve and I will be hosting his two kids, Hayden, age 13 and Declan, age 11. I'm excited and nervous and anxious. But I will miss all my family, getting together at Jennifer's house.

It's a little strange to only have four people for Thanksgiving. (that's four including me!) I don't even need my extra leaf in the table! But Steve and I both agreed that it's best to have a small gathering for me to get to know the kids better. We also thought it might be a little overwhelming to introduce them to all my family just yet!

To make it a little easier for them, I asked Steve what they traditionally have in the menu. I'm making apple and pumpkin pies for dessert (I will miss your pecan pie, Daddy!). And for an appetizer, we're having shrimp cocktail, which became a family tradition for them when they lived in Germany and couldn't get a turkey.