The Mother of Invention

It happened in a flash...
And before I knew it my life took another unplanned detour.
I had let the dog out at 7 AM and turned around [in the house] to go up the 2 small steps into the kitchen.  I must have misjudged the first step, and tripped UP the next one.
I fell forward and...
fractured my right arm.
So for the next 8-12 weeks, I wear a velcro gizmo designed to immobilize my right arm so that it will heal and not get worse.
Let me just say that as I type this one- handed, I cannot believe the many ways it has impacted normal and routine functions!!
My Latin teacher in high school taught us that,
'Necessity is the mother of invention.'
Because there are no stitches and no cast, the good news is that I can get in the shower and that is a wonderful thing.  I did discover that washing under my armpits while not being able to move my right arm proved...impossible!!!! 
What a revolting development that was!!!
I have solved that problem:  I took a back scratcher and covered it with a fuzzy sock, put soap on the top, and....
VOILA!!! It's a done deal.
My toughest task is pulling up my underwear and then outer pants without allowing my right arm to move away from my body...even a little bit.  Ouch!!!  Getting the right side all the way up to my waist is ....ARRGGHH!!!!  I challenge everyone...TRY IT!!
I will even let you keep your dominant hand as the working hand.  [I am a lefty, and now I have a whole new respect for the right arm's assistance.]
So...your mission is...should you choose to accept it... to get dressed one-handed.
Be sure to maintain your balance.  I am not responsible for any mishaps.
Any suggestions are welcomed, but please no sympathy or advice along the lines of being more careful.
I was/am the most focused person I know in being careful. Stuff happens.
I'm not as angry as I was 12 days ago.  And I dare say that a swear word or two eminated into the atmosphere...
Besides, ...it's history, 
2 weeks down...10 weeks to go.

Cue the Music, please...

 Starting on July 30th...
Mon & Tues:  Taught a Safe Driving Class
Wed:  Call 911 and Flo to the ER and back home again that night 
Thurs:My surgery foot rears an oozing, infected and red appearance.
Quick trip to my primary care dr and started on Keflex[antibiotic]
 Things got seriously worse overnight.
 The redness began to travel.
Fri:-Mon:  Placed in hospital for antibiotics intravenously...
                  Hold arthritis meds. [Wah-wah-wah!!]

Tues-Fri: Home again on oral antibiotics...fever enters center stage
Sat: 102.2 and back to 'after hours clinic'..take tylenol and push even more fluids and sweat out the fever...then ' it's back' .
Sun:  More Tylenol and more fever sweats.
Mon: Foot doc changes antibiotic to 2 different ones.
I take one of each...and break out in a [!#*!+#'] rash within hours.
Really??  An allergic reaction???  ARRGGHH!!
Tues-Wed.:  Stop the 2 new drugs and return to the Keflex to which I did not have an adverse reaction.  Lots of fluids...Thank God for The Olympics for distraction.
Thurs...TODAY...Cue the music please....
Two days with no fever over 98...and I feel alive with an element of spirit.  I begin humming the 'Theme from Rocky'..

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 Yes!  Wahoo!!  Wheeee!
"Gonna Fly Now!!"

                                      And I can be a determined soul!!

Whoa there!!

It is 2:02 AM and I am in awe of all that is occurring simultaneously in my little corner of the world. Here are some of the highlights in random order:

Mom is awake and not quite understanding that it is the 'middle of the night.'

It is raining, thundering, and lightening. One of the two skylights in my bedroom needs a new seal. It has been ordered by the roof man that I called to figure out the problem. In very windy rainy weather, it is a very, very slow drip . So, at the moment, the driving rain has joined us just a 'lil bit' in the dark. The creek which I can hear outside my bedroom window has already joined the grassy area on its sides more than once in the past 2 days.

The dog is inconsolable in thunder and lightening. She paces, and stands as a sentinel at the side of my bed, and stares at me. She has already tried to get inside of my pocketbook which was on the floor. I wish that I could help her, but I cannot fix this problem. She is licking Flo's hand right now.

I am off my arthritis meds, and as a result, there are body parts that are screaming.

A tornado watch was just issued for my county until 2:53 AM...I'm thinking the dog will exhibit even worse behavior. Obviously, I am hoping the actual tornado does not materialize.

It is warm in the bedroom, and I have the 2 windows open, and the ceiling fan on medium. Flo just announced that her head is sweating. Really? To which I reply.

"I totally understand this...Let us remember who is the first one to break out in a sweat....That would be me!!"

If it were 24 hours later, I could be watching the Royal Wedding Hoopla for entertainment. I really don't care about this event, but it would be entertaining at the very least. I am stuck with Judge Pirro. The Good Lord has scheduled $250 leather pocketbooks on QVC and thankfully, there will not be one in my future. Had it been plants and flowers, I would have been in trouble.

Well, the battery on my laptop is running low, and I am not going to plug it in while in the midst of all this drama...I am thinking that the way things are going right now, Lightning would connect Point A to Point Me...

What a re'volt'ing development that would be!!!

Day 3...waiting to exhale...

My day started at 5 AM when I heard strange sleeping sounds coming from Flo. Thinking that maybe she was having a bad dream, I went to her bedside to try to wake her up. Well, she must have been in one of her 'spells' and I have learned over time that it is less stressful for her if she awakens on her own. It is counterproductive to get loud calling her name. I know this. So I turned on the TV, and news was breaking about the earthquake in Japan with tsunami discussions happening as to when and where. Good Lord...I thought about my cyber friends in Hawaii as well as those on the west coast of the mainland. Exhale...ohmmm.~!

I volunteered at the hospital from 11 to 1:30, and when I got home, Nic said that Flo had another occurrence...another spell? And in the afternoon...a third time when I couldn't bring her into the real world. Kind of scary, yet it has happened before. [2 trips to the ER in the past]

Then, I asked her if she wanted a drink. She said yes, and she had a healthy amount of cranberry juice followed by a small dish of beef goulash and rice pudding topped with an Oreo cookie. I'm thinking...okay Flo! She went to bed at 7 PM. Exhale...ohmmm.

Then I watched Syracuse Univ play UConn at Madison Square Garden in the Big East Tournament at 7 PM. It ended in a tie, and here we go again...overtime! Two years ago, these very same two teams played a game that lasted 3 hours for 6....that is 'SIX' overtimes and SU finally won at 1:30 in the morning. Tonight UConn won this time after only one overtime.. What a game, and I knew my son was in the crowd, and my brother in NJ and I were texting back and forth, and Facebook friends were commenting as the game went on. Whew! Waiting to exhale...ohmmmm!

I am pooped. I will check on Mom, and then I am hopping into bed.

Waiting to exhale. Ohmmmm.

Night-All!

ZZ''ZZZ'Z'Z'Z'Z'Z'Z